Two foreign coaches will help the Philippine national fencing team prepare for the coming Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
Alireza Taherkhani, Iran’s former national coach for sabre, will continue working with Team Philippines for the second straight year.
Meanwhile, Korean coach Kim Hyungsup has entered the picture as the new foil fencing coach for the Philippines.
The two will assist national head coach Rolando Amatov Canlas in getting the squad ready for the coming biennial meet.
“Taherkhani is back, while we have a new coach from Korean. They will put up a camp and bring the team together before the SEA Games,” said Philippine Fencing Association president Rene Gacuma.
New faces are coming into the national team, with Juliana Gomez in the list.
Gomez, the daughter of Philippine Olympic Committee second vice president Richard Gomez and Ormoc City mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez has been included listed in the national women’s epee squad.
The inclusion of Gomez came following a series of ranking tournaments that the PFA held over the past months.
“She earned her way into the national team,” added Gacuma.
Veterans Ivy Dinoy, Hanniel Abella and Alexa Larrazabal are also returning to the national women’s epee roster, after helping her batch win the silver the last time around.
