Kim’s vision of legacy for South Korea’s female wheelchair fencers

By Sam Harris | For IWAS

World Championships bronze medallist Sunmi Kim has an extra reason to be motivated for the upcoming International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) Wheelchair Fencing World Championships as it is being held in her home country of South Korea.

The Worlds take place in Cheongju from 17-23 September and will be the sixth edition of the competition.

Kim is understandably looking forward to performing in front of her home fans: “As it is the first World Championships in Korea, I feel really excited and I would like to finish without any regrets.”

The 30-year-old has pedigree in World Championships, winning a bronze medal in 2017 in Rome, Italy, in the women’s epee category A and will be aiming to be on the podium again.

Claiming gold in 2019 would be an impressive achievement but Kim hopes it will also have a greater impact: “If I win a medal, I hope this can help increase the number of female wheelchair fencers in Korea.”

South Korea are now presented with the perfect platform to showcase the sport and potentially build on success.

Kim looks towards China and how they have grown their pool of wheelchair fencers.

“I like the way how Chinese wheelchair fencers play which I am trying to emulate. Usually I find and watch the videos of their play, which lets me learn a lot of techniques like timing, accuracy.”

There have been various World Cup warm-up events ahead of the Worlds with Kim finishing sixth in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in May and seventh in Warsaw, Poland, in July, both in epee.

Along with World Cups earlier this year in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates and Pisa, Italy, these events also offer chances for athletes to secure qualification points for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

The World Cup circuit will conclude after the World Championships with Amsterdam hosting the competition from 14-17 November.

Kim is hoping she can take this year’s form into Cheongju 2019 “I would like to make this home World Championships my most memorable competition.”

The 2019 IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Championships will get underway with under one year to go to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. As well as the world titles on offer, it is a key qualification opportunity for the next Paralympics.