Letters | How Hong Kong’s Olympic champion Edgar Cheung inspired me
- The fencer overcame self-doubt and mastered his emotions to win glory. His story will give courage to fellow athletes and Hongkongers facing their own lows
When the Olympics were postponed last year due to the pandemic, Cheung saw his international ranking drop from fifth to 19th as a result of several factors. During this trough, he doubted his ability to improve.
I am also a Hong Kong team athlete and I am currently struggling with the fact that I have not been able to improve my times. It has been a year since I last achieved my personal best times. I am in a bottleneck, doubting whether I can really become a world-class athlete.
But after looking at Cheung, I know I should not be discouraged or frustrated. Instead, I should be like him: face the situation bravely and discuss it with people I trust like my coaches and my parents, practise actively, regulate my own mindset, stick to my targets, and get ready for the races.
He mentioned in later interviews that he was impatient at the beginning of the match. But he told himself he could not let his emotions get the better of him. His persistence helped him to win.