Olympic king Cheung Ka-long leads Hong Kong fencers’ challenge at Asian Championships
- Men’s foil team aims to win first regional gold with Cheung, Ryan Choi, Lawrence Ng and Yeung Chi-ka in the four-member squad
- Women’s épée team is headed by Vivian Kong, and also aims to extend long medal-winning streak
Hong Kong’s high-flying fencers will look to once again prove themselves against their regional counterparts as they kick off their Asian Championships campaigns in Seoul on Friday.
Led by reigning Olympic champion and world No 1 Cheung Ka-long, Hong Kong will be the team to beat in the men’s foil, while a women’s épée team featuring former world No 1 Vivian Kong Man-wai will be another force to be reckoned with.
Both Cheung and Kong are former regional champions. Cheung captured the individual foil title in Wuxi, China in 2016, while Kong was the 2018 épée champion in Bangkok – where another Hong Kong foilist, Cheung Siu-lun, clinched the men’s foil title.
Hong Kong has never won a team gold at the regional championships. But the men’s foil team, which also features Ryan Choi Chun-yin, Lawrence Ng Lok-wang and Yeung Chi-ka, will be the favourites in the South Korean capital.
“Every competition we go to, we target a gold medal,” foil coach Gregory Koenig said before the team’s departure.
“Hong Kong will be the team to beat in Seoul because of our recent performances, and we will also be under great pressure. But how to handle that pressure in such an environment is what we have to face.”
Having lifted the Olympic title last summer, Cheung also reached the top of the world rankings in April by winning the World Cup series in Paris.
