Olympic fencer Cheung Ka-long to compete in first event since winning gold in Tokyo, as Hong Kong Open returns after two-year absence

The 24-year-old confirms he will take to the piste this weekend as event returns with more prize money on offer

‘Anyone who thinks their spot is sealed is lying,’ national team head coach Zheng Kangzhao says ahead of 2022 Asian Games selection

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(From left) Hong Kong fencers Coco Lin Yik-hei, Edgar Cheung Ka-long, Nicholas Edward Choi, Cheung Siu-lun and Moonie Chu Ka-mong at the 2021 Hong Kong Open Fencing Championships press conference in Kwun Tong. Photo: SCMP / Nora Tam

Published: 8:00pm, 23 Nov 2021

Hong Kong Olympic champion Cheung Ka-long is set to return for his first competition since his triumph in Tokyo, with the Blue Cross Insurance 2021 Hong Kong Open Fencing Championships taking place this weekend.

Despite a niggling knee injury – the 2020 Games individual foil gold medallist was forced to pull out of the National Games because of the swelling – he is relishing being back under the lights against the city’s top prospects.

“I’m feeling OK. My leg is still in a bit of pain, but I will compete,” the 24-year-old Cheung said on Tuesday. “Because it’s my first event since the Olympics, it’s about getting back that competitive feeling after being inactive for some time.”

Hong Kong national fencer Cheung Ka-long wins against Italy’s Alessio Foconi in a men’s individual foil qualifying game at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Makuhari Messe Hall in Japan in July. Photo: AFP

The event takes place at the AsiaWorld Expo on November 27 and 28, a venue Cheung is familiar with.

“Very few Hong Kong athletes get to compete at such a big facility,” he said. “I competed previously at the Expo at the Asian Championships [in 2017], so the feeling will be very similar to that.

“There won’t be much different in terms of approach. I will compete as I usually go. I don’t give myself any pressure, like what place I want to get, or that I have to win in the final. It’s better to go to each event not thinking about the magnitude.”

(L-R) Hong Kong fencers Coco Lin Yik-hei, Edgar Cheung Ka-long, Nicholas Edward Choi, Shawn Cheung Siu-lun and Moonie Chu Ka-mong – who will take part in the Blue Cross Insurance 2021 Hong Kong Open Fencing Championships at AsiaWorld-Expo this weekend – attend a media conference for the event. Photo: Nora Tam

This year’s Open, which was cancelled for the past two years because of coronavirus restrictions, will feature 639 fencers across 17 award categories. Organisers confirmed the prize money has also been doubled to HK$100,000.