Wong and his compatriot Ronald Tan represented Singapore at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
SINGAPORE – When national fencer Amita Berthier received confirmation that she had qualified for the Paris Olympics in March, her former coach James Wong was one of the first few people she shared the news with. She knew that he had stayed up to hear from her.Berthier also rushed straight from Changi Airport to the hospice to visit Wong, who had been battling late-stage cancer. She did not want to delay what could be a last meeting with her former mentor.
“We all definitely looked up to him. He was a great mentor and he was someone who made us believe that even though we may come from a small country, it doesn’t mean we can’t achieve greatness like the other countries have.” He was one of the co-founders of Z Fencing, Singapore’s first fencing club, which was set up in 1993 and has produced some of the country’s top fencers such as Berthier.One of Z Fencing’s founders, Wong Toon King, recalled with a laugh how Wong got involved with the school. Toon King had initially set up Z Fencing with fellow national fencers Mak Chee Wah and Teo Ah Heok. But they included Wong after he called them to ask why he had not been invited to come on board.
Such was Wong’s love for fencing that Toon King and his co-founders often joked that he knew only three places in his life: his house, his gym and Z Fencing. James Wong and Ronald Tan were the first two fencers to represent Singapore at the Olympics when they featured at the 1992 Barcelona Games. PHOTO: ST FILE
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