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

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Hong Kong epee fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai at the Tokyo Olympic Games event at the Makuhari Messe Hall in Japan. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:23pm, 27 Feb 2022Updated: 1:22pm, 9 Mar 2022

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.

The 28-year-old Kong was the only non-Russian epeeist in the final four, before the tournament updates and live broadcast were stopped after Saturday’s events. It would have been her first World Cup medal since a bronze in Dubai in 2019.

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.