Tokyo Olympics 2020: Hong Kong needs a helping hand from South Korea for women’s épée team to qualify for Games

Kazan is the last épée Olympic qualifying event, but Hong Kong won’t be going due to the pandemic

If South Korea can improve their ranking and get into the top four, Hong Kong can also gain a team place for Tokyo this summer

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Vivian Kong has qualified in the individual épée but the team qualification will need help from the South Koreans after opting not to compete in the Kazan World Cup series later this month. Photo: Facebook/FIE

Published: 4:44pm, 8 Mar 2021Updated: 4:54pm, 8 Mar 2021

Hong Kong will not send a women’s épée team to this month’s fencing Kazan World Cup due to health concerns, but hope rivals South Korea can lend the city a hand by helping Vivian Kong Man-wai’s team qualify for the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

The Russian event remains the last qualifying competition of the discipline for the 2020 Games, which was suspended from last year because of the global pandemic outbreak. As a result, Hong Kong will not be able to improve on their Olympic qualification rankings of 14th despite the presence of leading fencer Kong, a bronze medallist at the 2019 World Championships.

The Sports Institute, where the elite fencers are based, has recommended local fencers not to attend the Kazan event, due to kick off on March 20 as there’s still a risk of travelling and athletes may not have sufficient protection from Covid-19 in the Russian city.

Fencer Vivian Kong proudly presents her first World Cup gold medal she won in Havana, Cuba in 2019. Photo: Chan Kin-wa

“This is the decision after reviewing the safety conditions there,” said Hong Kong fencing head coach Zheng Zhaokang. “We still have a chance of qualifying an épée team to the Tokyo Games, if the South Koreans can do us a big favour.

“Of course, we are quite passive under this situation but there is little we can do.”