Young fencer Nguyen Tien Nhat has earned a berth at the coming London Olympics after cruising into the finals of the Games’ Asian qualifying round in Japan on April 21.

In the men’s epee event, which saw tough competition among the 14 most outstanding fencers from Asia, Nhat trounced a rival from New Zealand to enter the quarter-finals where he claimed 15-13 victory over Nishida Shogo from Japan.

He then thrashed Leung Ka Ming from Hong Kong (China) with a score of 15-10 in the semi-finals. However, the Vietnamese athlete lost 7-15 to Ruslan Kudayev from Uzbekistan in the finals.

Nhat, 22, is a rising star of Ho Chi Minh City’s fencing team. He won a gold medal in the 2011 national fencing championship and bagged two silver medals at the 26th SEA Games in the men’s epee event.

His teammates, Phan Quoc Tai and Vu Thanh An in the men’s foil event, Nguyen Thi Le Dung and Nguyen Thi Tuoi in the women’s sabre event, and Nguyen Thanh Van in the women’s epee event, failed to advance at the Asian qualifying round.

They will continue to compete at the Asian fencing championships in Japan from April 24-25.

Source: VOV