Tokyo Olympics: Fencer Kaylin Hsieh comes out of quarantine to win the President’s Cup
- The 20-year-old becomes the new women’s épée champion after completing a 14-day quarantine upon her return from the United States
- She says it’s a dream come true for her to qualify for the Olympics at such a tender age
Having spent 14 days in quarantine upon her return to Hong Kong from the United States, Kaylin Hsieh Sin-yan was eager to show how much she has improved. Her patience was rewarded on Saturday when she won the women’s épée event at the President’s Cup, fighting her way into the final before handing Hong Kong teammate Lin Yik-hei a 15-8 defeat in the final.
Competing in the absence of Hong Kong number one Vivian Kong Man-wai, who gave the tournament a miss at Hong Kong Park Sports Centre, the 20-year-old Hsieh is an up-and-coming young fencer who helped her college, Notre Dame, clinch their 11th title at the American Collegiate Fencing Championships in March.
“I just completed my quarantine yesterday and was told by the [health] authority that I could take part in this event,” said the champion, who celebrated her birthday last month.
While spending 14 days in quarantine, Hsieh said she was not in tip-top shape but had kept her condition that proved too much for her rivals on Saturday.
“I didn’t have too much preparation and only had some physical training on an ergo bike in my hotel room. But still it’s so nice coming back to Hong Kong to compete against so many familiar faces. In fact, winning the title is not the most important, it’s how you execute your attack or defence as each movement counts.”