Hong Kong Olympic fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai gave credit to an unlikely source for inspiring her to stay focused on her training as the Covid-19 pandemic robbed her of competition. Her major rival and world champion Nathalie Moellhausen, of Brazil, came to her rescue as Kong battled to set goals and maintain her motivation. The former world number one in the épée discipline is already qualified for Tokyo in the individual event while the Hong Kong épée team still have a chance if things go their way at March’s World Cup in Chengdu, China. The seventh-ranked Kong said Moellhausen brought her out of her slump by telling her that fencing involved more than preparing for tournaments. Fencer Vivian Kong to kick off Hong Kong’s medal quest at Tokyo Olympics “At first, when we realised we had no competition and could only train, I was very excited because such a situation had not happened before and I had ample time for training,” said the 26-year-old Kong, who last competed in a World Cup event in Barcelona in February, when she finished fifth. “Then after a while I started getting lost in training because there was no real target to work towards and no one knew when this situation would end. “But thanks to Nathalie, she inspired me, saying that the purpose of training is not solely for competition. Fencing has become part of her life as she embraces it into her everyday life with a lot of passion. “It has inspired me and helped me tackle the boredom of training. I enjoy it very much and have made improvements technically and tactically. In fact, we should be grateful for the opportunity to train. We have never stopped because of the pandemic and many others may not be benefiting in the same way.” Moellhausen and Kong met at the 2019 Worlds in Budapest where the Brazilian won their semi-final clash before reaching the final and snatching the world title. Hong Kong fencer Vivian Kong can medal at Worlds, says coach After a long period without competition, Kong and her teammates’ next international event could be in January with the International Fencing Federation planning to restart the World Cup series in Havana, Cuba. “Of course, I feel very excited to compete again but it is still too early to say if we can go to Cuba,” said Kong. “The Sports Institute will scrutinise all overseas events before allowing us to go as the pandemic is still affecting a lot of areas in the world. We have to keep our fingers crossed. “Our major focus will be the World Cup in Chengdu in March as that will be the last épée qualification event for the Tokyo Olympics.” The 2020 Chengdu World Cup was supposed to be the last qualification event for épée but then the coronavirus outbreak turned into a pandemic, causing havoc with the world sporting calendar. The 2021 Chengdu will act as the replacement event. Hong Kong need a favour from the South Korean women if they are to qualify for the Olympics team epee event. If South Korea can win in Chengdu, they would earn a ticket to Tokyo because they would have reached the top four in the world. Hong Kong, ranked 14th, could also qualify as the highest-ranked continental team outside the top four. “The Korean girls are very strong and I hope they can give us a hand,” said Kong.