Cheung Ka-long and Hong Kong foil team leave home behind for 6 to 9 months to ‘maximise’ skills ahead of 2022 Asian Games

City’s top foilists are in Paris to train with France and Japan national teams ahead of bumper international calendar

‘We are in an opposition sport, so we need opponents to improve and fight,’ says coach Gregory Koenig

Reading Time:3 minutes

Hong Kong men’s foil winner Edgar Cheung Ka-long at the Challenge Cup Championships at the Hong Kong Science Park. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 9:15am, 23 Dec 2021Updated: 2:47pm, 7 Jan 2022

The Hong Kong foil team’s lengthy overseas excursion will help to “maximise” skills and motivation ahead of a bumper competitive calendar, coach Gregory Koenig has said.

Olympic champion Cheung Ka-long and his teammates touched down in Paris, France last week and are unlikely to return home for at least six months, with the World Cup season around the corner leading into next summer’s postponed Asian Championships, and September’s 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

With no more domestic competitions after this month’s Hong Kong Open Championships and Challenge Cups, and a regional fixture list that has been affected by Covid-19, a trip to Europe to train with some of the best foilists in the world is welcome.

“It’s been two years training in the same fencing hall without much movement, and only one competition in Doha after the [Tokyo 2020] Olympic Games, so training in different ways is very important for the Hong Kong team,” Koenig said.

Hong Kong men’s foil representative Ryan Choi Chun-yin (left) against Edgar Cheung Ka-long in the final of the Hong Kong Fencing Challenge Cup Championships at Hong Kong Science Park. Photo: Jonathan Wong

“Being in a different environment means they will be much more passionate – I won’t say motivated because they are already motivated.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x