Players display their skills during a fencing training camp at Astroturf in Ranchi on Tuesday. Picture by Manik Bose

Ranchi, June 24: For a moment it looks like a shot for an era-based Bollywood movie. But take a closer look and you see a fierce fight for victory.

Fencing, the sport with swords, is here to excite action lovers in the city. A five-day camp is being conducted at the Astroturf Complex at present.

In this sport, two competitors fight each other using very thin swords, known as “epee” (a thin and light sword), “foil” (sword made of very thin metal) and “sabre” (a heavier sword). The sword ends are covered and opponents have to wear protective gear. The competitor who attacks the most wins.

Altogether 48 trainees, including 10 girls, have started to learn basic footwork and ways to hold the swords, under the tutelage of Santosh Pandey, the fencing coach from Calcutta.

“We have invited the coach and his two assistants from the Bengal Fencing Association. They have come with their own epees, foils and sabres,” said Jai Kumar Singh, the secretary of the Jharkhand Fencing Association (JFA).

The trainees are karate students. This would help them pick up the nuances of the game easily, especially the footwork, anticipation, stance, feinting and other aspects.

“As boys and girls have a karate background, they are picking up the nuances of this game faster and I am happy with the progress they have made in three days,” the chief coach Santosh Pandey said.

For this introductory camp, there is no entry fee and all were welcome to learn the sport. “But the karate students are performing very well and are being able to understand the demands of this sport faster,” Singh said.

An intensive camp will follow soon and a championship will also be organised. Performance at that tournament will form the basis for selection in the state team for the 34th National Games, Sinha said.

The JFA has placed orders for four units of the epee, foil and sabre. Each piece would cost between Rs 1,200 and Rs 1,500.

The JFA has placed orders for jackets and facemasks, too.

Sinha added: “We are not thinking of purchasing any other equipment at the moment. The association cannot afford more facilities.”

The JFA president N.N. Hoda said: “We have succeeded in introducing a new sport in limited resources and in time we shall add to the facilities available for fencing.”