Hong Kong top fencer Vivian Kong can medal at the Worlds, says coach Octavian Zidaru

Top fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai is aiming to snatch back the world’s number one spot – and in the process win Hong Kong their first medal at the world championships, which begin in Budapest next week.

Following her mediocre performance at the Asian championships in Tokyo last month, in which she finished ninth in the women’s épée, Kong lost her world ranking crown to reigning world champion Mara Navarria, of Italy, with Ana Maria Popescu, of Romania, occupying the second spot and Kong dropping to third.

Coach Octavian Zidaru remains confident his fencer, who left for Europe last week to fine-tune her preparations, would shine on the biggest stage left ahead of next year’s Tokyo Olympic Games.

“For us, each competition is a challenge and we don’t go there just to participate,” said the Romanian, who came to Hong Kong four years ago to take charge of the épée team. “Of course, our target is to win a medal. Good results at the world championships will be great motivators and there are many ranking points at stake.

“If you get a medal in Budapest, you are almost certain to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games, although I don’t think this will be any problem for Kong. Also, Kong has only a very small number of ranking points to defend in Budapest as she did not do well at the last worlds in Wuxi [China], while Navarria and Popescu have a lot as they are the defending champion and silver medallist respectively.”

The 25-year-old Kong has so far enjoyed her best season, moving to the top of the rankings in March after claiming two World Cup series gold medals in Havana and Barcelona and a silver in Tallinn, Estonia.

The world championships will wrap up the season before it resumes in October.

No Hong Kong fencer has ever won a medal at the full world championships, although some have achieved it at junior or cadet level, including Karen Chang Ngai-hing, Cheung Ka-long and Kaylin Hsieh Sin-yan. They all will appear in their respective disciplines in Budapest.

Zidaru, who also coached the Romania national team – including Popescu – after the 2012 London Olympic Games, said Kong was now no different to any top fencer in the world and the only thing she needed was more international exposure.

“Popescu is 10 years older than Kong, the same age as Korean Jung Hyo-jung who beat Kong at the Asian championships, while Navarria is 33. It means they are all more experienced at the international level,” said the coach.

“Epee is very tactical and you need more than just having the skills but also the know-how to manage your opponents. Vivian sometimes makes mistakes because she is too fair. She wants to do actions and actions but you also need to let the opponents make mistakes. Sometimes, the opponent is waiting and doing nothing. She still needs to learn high-level tactics and be more mature and this is what we mean by experience.”

Zidaru said Kong and Popescu were both models of world-class athletes – both are left handers, tall and strong, but Kong has a quality the Romanian fencer doesn’t have.

“Vivian’s lunge is very big with the power on her legs while Popescu doesn’t have that, although there are some details such as the coordination and chain of movement that Vivian needs to work on,” he said.