Fencer Vivian Kong snatches second medal at Cairo World Championships
- Kong lost to eventual champion Song Sera of South Korea in women’s épée semi-finals to finish joint-third place in Cairo
- She also captured bronze medal at last Worlds in 2019, Hong Kong’s first and will lead assault in team event with Natalie Chan, Kaylin Hsieh and Coco Lin
Vivian Kong Man-wai snatched her second medal after settling for a joint-third place in the women’s épée at the World Championships in Cairo on Monday.
In a heartbreaking semi-final against world No 3 Song Sera of South Korea, Kong, who held a 4-2 head-to-head advantage before the bout, once forced a nine-all draw in the third and last session with one minute to go.
But the Korean showed spectacular form with her neat defence to score five points in a row to win the match 14-9. Song went on to clinch the world title for South Korea as she beat Alexandra Ndolo of Germany 11-10 in the final.
Kong, the world No 7, and Rossella Fiamingo of Italy Alexandra, who lost to the German 15-10 in their semi-final clash, were both awarded a bronze medal as there was no play-off for the third place.
It was the second successive trophy for Kong at the World Championships after the 28-year-old claimed Hong Kong’s first-ever medal, also a bronze, at the 2019 Worlds where she also lost in the semi-finals to Nathalie Moellhausen of Brazil. No world event took place over the last two years because of Covid-19 and the Tokyo Olympics.
Head coach Zheng Kangzho said he was pleased with the result, given the World Championships is the biggest event outside the Olympic Games.
“Winning a medal at the World Championships is not easy, but Kong has now done it two times in a row,” Zheng said.