Fencing World Championships: Vivian Kong wins battle of Hong Kong with Kaylin Hsieh, but misses medal and loses world No 1 ranking
- Kong defeats her Hong Kong teammate Hsieh in the women’s épée competition in Milan
- But Kong’s podium hopes end in the quarter-finals as she loses to Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist – and slips to world No 2
Vivian Kong Man-wai’s dream of winning a medal for Hong Kong at the World Championships was crushed as she lost in the quarter-finals of the women’s épée.
And Kong suffered the added disappointment of losing her world No 1 ranking as a result, having gone into the championships in Milan with high hopes of victory after bronze medals in the two most recent editions.
The 29-year-old went through three rounds from the last 64, having been exempted from the pool stage as a seeded player, and earned a 13-10 victory over compatriot Kaylin Hsieh Sin-yan in the round of 16.
But in her quarter-final on Tuesday night, Kong bowed out to Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Mara Navarria of Italy. The 38-year-old won 15-13 before losing 15-14 to compatriot Alberta Santuccio in the semi-finals.
Also reaching the semis was Sun Yiwen of China, the Olympic champion. She ultimately lost 14-10 to France’s Marie-Florence Candassamy, who went on to take the title – and Kong’s No 1 spot – with a 14-10 victory over Santuccio.
In the men’s sabre, Aaron Ho Sze-long of Hong Kong achieved his best result at the championships by reaching the round of 16, before losing 15-12 to Ha Han-sol of South Korea.
After wins in the pool stage and preliminary rounds, three Hongkongers reached the main draw of the women’s foil, taking place later on Wednesday.
Daphne Chan Nok-sze and Sophia Wu reached the round of 32 but were beaten 15-9 by Arianna Errigo of Italy and 15-11 by world No 1 Lee Kiefer of the United States respectively. Valerie Cheng Hiu-wai lost 15-10 to Italy’s Martina Batini in the round of 64.
After winning all his pool matches, Nicholas Chau Chak-hin alone was left to represent Hong Kong in the men’s épée, following the eliminations of teammates Fong Hoi-sun, Ho Wai-hang and Ng Ho-tin. But Chau exited in the opening round after a 14-13 defeat by Tristan Szapary of the US.
Each team can send four fencers to the individual competitions, with the world’s top 16 players gaining exemption from the pool stage.
