Chen Hailin is being tipped to be the “next Vivian Kong” after winning a world cadet under-17 épée bronze in Dubai on Saturday at the age of just 15. The medal came five weeks after Chen took gold at the Asian Junior Championships. Competing in her first junior worlds, the ESF Sha Tin College Year 11 student finished the six rounds of pool play with a 4-2 record and placed 36 out of 109 epeeists. After advancing from the last 64, Chen – who stands at 1.85 metres – then defeated France’s Faustine Geniez 15-14, Egypt’s Hana Eleraky 15-14 in the last 16, and Canada’s fifth seed Grace Hu 15-13 in the quarter finals. The semi-finals provided a nail-biter against the top-seed and eventual champion Aleyna Erturk of Turkey, with Chen losing 15-14 and having to settle for bronze. The Hong Kong girls’ épée team finished 26th on Sunday, led by Chen. The 28-year-old former world No 1 Vivian Kong Man-wai complimented her “little sister” in a social media post after her efforts last weekend. “Congratulations Helin [Hailin] on your first J&C World Championships!!! At age 15!!! So so proud of how much Helin has grown,” Kong wrote. Kong shared two images of herself with Hailin, from when she was a child. The two have a unique bond, as Kong’s early fencing master was Chen’s father. “To be honest, it is beyond my expectations; I did have expectations for her at the Asian Junior and Cadet Championships in February, and she finished well,” said Chen Weijing, Chen’s father and coach, who was pleased that his daughter claimed a cadet gold and a junior silver at the 2022 Asian Junior and Cadet Championships in Uzbekistan.” “It is not an easy journey – not only is the junior worlds a big tournament that she [Hailin] has never experienced, but the entire trip on our own is really difficult,” Chen added. The Hong Kong Fencing Association has chosen not to send a team to both the junior Asian and Worlds because of Covid-19 concerns, however fencers can still compete if they bear their own responsibility. Almost 30 young fencers and their parents, including coach Chen, flew to Uzbekistan on February 20 for the junior Asian Championships, then flew to Dubai for the Junior and Cadet World Championships because of severe quarantine regulations in Hong Kong. “She was fencing in a dream during the junior event [U20] in Dubai and lost in the final 64,” coach Chen added. “Fortunately, she overcame her nerves in time to take home the bronze medal.” Chen’s bronze marks Hong Kong’s fifth medal in the junior and cadet worlds, and she is the youngest of the group. Sabre Karen Chang Ngai-hing took gold in 2013, boys’ foil Edgar Cheung Ka-long in 2017, girls’ épée Kaylin Hsieh Sin-yan in 2018, and boys’ foil Cheng Tit-nam in 2022. Coach Chen hopes that his daughter, like his former student Kong, will be able to balance high-school studies and fencing. “Everyone has the potential to be ‘next Vivian Kong’,” Chen said. “Fencing is not a sport for Asians, but not only Kong proved that it is, China, Koreans as well. My daughter has the potential too. See how she deals with the pressure from this bronze medal.”