Debbie Ho to consider returning as full-time Hong Kong athlete after finishing second behind Vivian Kong in the Challenge Cup épée final
- An impressive outing causes part-timer Ho to rethink future ahead of a series of big international events in 2022
- Former world No 1 Kong demands more consistency for the new season as she targets return to the top spot
Debbie Ho Tik-lam will consider returning as a full-time athlete after reaching the Challenge Cup women’s épée final, falling only to Hong Kong number one Vivian Kong Man-wai.
Competing in her last home tournament before a month overseas for training and competition, Kong, ranked sixth in the world, showed she is still in a class of her own after a 15-8 victory over Ho at the Science Park Exhibition Hall on Sunday.
But the result was already surprising enough for runner-up Ho, who had only trained once over the past two weeks because of work commitments.
“Maybe there was no pressure for me as I was expecting to lose in the opening elimination rounds,” said the 24-year-old Ho, who stopped full-time training in September last year because she wanted to find a job.
“But today’s result is very impressive – much better than I would have expected. With some major events ahead in 2022, I will definitely consider going back to full-time training. I will have a decision later this month.”