Hong Kong star Vivian Kong Man-wai has eased into the round of 32 at the fencing Qatar Grand Prix in Doha, while two of her male colleagues were forced to battle each other for a place in the round of 64. Cedric Ho Wai-hang showed no mercy to promising 18-year-old teammate Ng Ting-hin as the former Diocesan Boys’ School team captain fell to his “older brother”, while former Hong Kong No 1 and National Games medallist Fong Hoi-sun also advanced to Sunday’s knockouts. Ho and Fong won five and lost one in their group games and will vie for a place against their respective opponents Martin Rubes of the Czech Republic and Hungarian Zsombor Banyai for a spot in the round of 32. Teammates Ng Ho-tin and Clarence Lai Ka-tsun were unable to qualify through the men’s groups after struggling in their respective matches. Meanwhile, former world No 1 Vivian Kong Man-wai and Youth Olympics silver medallist Kaylin Hsieh Sin-yan, 20, comfortably advanced from their groups. Kong, who is ranked sixth in the world and is seeded third in the competition, beat Victoria Vizeo of Brazil in the round of 64 on Sunday, and will face Pauline Brunner of Switzerland in the evening. Fellow Tokyo Olympics teammate Hsieh comfortably beat Aliya Luty of France to face Estonia’s Nelli Differt in the round of 32. Should the Hong Kong pair both win, they will have to fight it out in the quarter-finals. Strong outings in the Grand Prix series will help with the fencers’ individual ranking points, with Kong hoping to climb the rankings once again . Elsewhere, the Hong Kong men’s foil team who dazzled at this month’s World Cup in Paris – star fencer Cheung Ka-long won gold in the individual event , rising to world-ranked No 2 – will continue to prepare for their next competition in Egypt on February 25. Coach Greg Koenig’s team will compete in a local fencing event in the Parisian suburb Bourg-la-Reine to test what they have been training. Former Hong Kong top-ranked Nicholas Edward Choi and Asian Games bronze medallist Yeung Chi-ka have reportedly impressed in the preliminaries, while Cheung and Ryan Choi Chun-yin are straight through to the next rounds. A total of 10 Hong Kong men’s and women’s representatives will compete. The foil Grand Prix in Turin, Italy slated for next month has been postponed to the end of March because of Covid-19 restrictions.