PHNOM PENH: After bowing out in the Sea Games quarter-finals in Phnom Penh today, fencer Joshua Koh will catch a plane to Istanbul in 48 hours for a higher-level competition.
The 32-year-old Malaysian said he will be going for the World Cup in Istanbul from May 19-21, which is part of his mission to try and qualify for next year's Paris Olympics.
"The Olympic qualification has started this month, and I plan to compete in designated tournaments to earn ranking points," he said.
In Phnom Penh yesterday, Joshua, Isaac Seet and Kelvyn Kok went down 45-35 to Thailand in the men's team epee quarter-finals at the Chroy Changvar Convention Centre.
Joshua, who fought hard against Thai Chaloemchanen Chinnaphat, said: "My performance was not good enough today, but I think we have a good future and this is a good experience for the younger ones competing here."
Joshua, who also exited in the quarter-finals of the individual competition on Friday, won the individual epee gold in the 2011 Jakarta Sea Games. He also bagged a silver in the 2019 Manila and a bronze in the 2021 Hanoi editions.
Now, he hopes to be only the third Malaysian fencer to compete in the Olympics after Yu Peng Kean (London, 2012) and the late Ronnie Theseira (Tokyo, 1964).
"The Malaysian Fencing Federation has agreed to help support my aim to try for Olympic qualification.
"There's a chance to get in either through the world rankings or through the Asian qualification tournament next year. It's my dream to go to the Olympics before I finish off my fencing career," he said.
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