Ashton Auw takes bronze for Singapore’s first Youth Olympic fencing medal
The 17-year-old’s sabre podium finish brought Singapore’s 2026 Youth Olympic Games tally to one gold, one silver and one bronze.
Singapore’s Ashton Auw defeated Georgia’s Giorgi Urushadze 15-10 on Nov 13 to claim bronze in boys’ individual sabre at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games. The result in Senegal gave Singapore its first fencing medal at the Games and completed the team’s campaign.
Competing at the Dakar Expo Center, the 17-year-old opened a 4-0 advantage before Urushadze drew level at 6-6. Auw responded with four successive points and stayed ahead for the rest of the bronze-medal contest.
The Singapore Sports School student won all six pool-stage bouts, then beat Iraq’s Hayder Al-Asadi 15-11 in the quarter-finals. Kazakhstan’s Aibar Kaiym edged him 15-13 in the semi-finals before losing the final 15-6 to Turkey’s Candeniz Berrak.
Auw said he had approached the competition believing he could beat any opponent. He credited his focus on each point and bout, rather than on his rivals, with helping his performance.
Singapore finished with three medals. Ng Zhe Nin, 16, won the girls’ taijiquan combined gold in wushu on Nov 3, while Loy Ming Ying, also 16, took silver in girls’ singles table tennis two days later. The country fielded 14 athletes across nine sports.
Auw said he hoped the bronze would encourage other Singaporean fencers to achieve stronger results overseas. He also valued the friendships formed while travelling alongside Singapore athletes from other sports.
