HA NOI (VNS)– The Viet Nam fencing team will compete in seven international tournaments this year.

The first event will be the Southeast Asian Fencing Federation Cadets and Juniors Championships, which take place in Brunei from January 26-February 4.

In the debut tournament of the year, young athletes are expected to win five gold medals which will help them top the ranking table.

Viet Nam have been the leading fencing team in the region for years.

A month later they will join the Asian Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships in Thailand before heading to Croatia for the World Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships on April 9-15.

The youth fencers will also target the Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China in August. Their next tournament is the Asian Under-23 Fencing Championships in Kuwait, which has not yet been scheduled.

Earlier the senior athletes will take part in the Asian Fencing Championships on June 4-9 in Lebanon and the World Fencing Championships on August 6-14 in Hungary.

In preparation for the busy season, the team started their training early this month. They will leave for Brunei by the end of this week. – VNS