Hong Kong fencer Vivian Kong’s Sochi World Cup medal match abruptly called off as organisers feel Russia-Ukraine heat
- The 28-year-old had eased into the final four before governing body FIE appeared to call off all remaining events amid withdrawals and complaints
- Hong Kong team confirm they are safe as they await an official statement or comment over the decision
Former world No 1 Vivian Kong Man-wai had her Women’s Epée Sochi World Cup medal hopes snatched away after organisers appeared to unofficially cut short the event ahead of her semi-final.
The event has been marred by controversy throughout as the International Fencing Federation (FIE), whose president is Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, allowed it to be held in Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine.
Several entrants withdrew in protest ahead of and during the event – a reported 101 fencers competed compared to the 170 in the previous iteration in Barcelona – as many remaining competitors automatically advanced, while fans continued to bombard its official social media pages with comments of outrage.
There has been no official comment over the decision to truncate the competition despite initially holding preliminary and knockout games. Fans also questioned the timing, given there were already complaints submitted in the previous rounds.
The Hong Kong team confirmed with local media that they heard by word of mouth that organisers had cut the event short and were awaiting further instructions from FIE.
A team member also confirmed to the Post that they are safe, albeit confused.
Kong had impressed on the way to the semis, beating South Korea’s Kang Youngmi 15-10, Romania’s Amalia Tataran 15-11, Anna Gzyunova of Russia 15-10 and Alexandra Ndolo of Germany 15-12 on the way.
She was scheduled for a duel with Russian Violetta Kolobova, whose previous two opponents withdrew.
Teammate Moonie Chu Ka-mong also had an improved outing after reaching the knockouts, losing 15-8 to promising world No 19 Aizanat Mutazaeva, of Russia.
As of Sunday afternoon, the women’s épée team’s scheduled match against Romania in the evening was off, with only six teams left in the round of eight, the other four being hosts Russia, South Korea, Japan and Hungary.
