China's fencers endured a torrid time over the weekend at the Foil World Cup being held at Shanghai's Westgate Mall.

Not a single home fencer managed to make it beyond the quarterfinal in both the men's and women's individual competition while the men's team event yesterday also saw China blocked out of the final four.

"Our fencers were subdued by pressure when the matches were close," admitted Wang Wei, the country's team leader. "We are now caught between the old generation and the new one...the transition is proving to be a painful process."

Most of China's 40-plus fencers at the competition, particularly the men's event, were greenhorns on the international stage. The retirement of Wang Haibin, Dong Zhaozhi and Ye Chong, the trio who brought the country two Olympic team silver medals, is still having a lingering impact on the sport in China.

One of the old warriors, Wang, actually has become the head coach of the men's foil outfit and asked the media to give the new boys more time to carve their own niche.

"Our athletes have shown the world their mettle at the World Championships last year...they simply don't have a point to prove," Wang said, defending his wards by drawing attention to China's silver medal finish at the World Championship team event in Germany last year. "All they have to do now is try to keep their performance consistent."

Little wonder then that this time in Shanghai, it was someone else hogging the limelight.

Italy's Andrea Cassara seized the gold medal in the men's individual event while South Korea's Nam Hyun-hee emerged as the winner on the women's side. Nam also helped her country prevail in the women's team event, with France taking men's team title.

(Shanghai Daily March 6, 2006)