bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Mike Chan

Hong Kong coach Gregory Koenig said he remained confident about the future of the city’s men’s fencers despite only one of them, defending champion Cheung Ka-long, clinching a place at the Olympic Games this summer.
The foil head coach refused to blame the qualification criteria for Hong Kong’s modestly sized Paris-bound contingent, with teams ranked lower in the world having been handed a spot so that all continents are represented.
Koenig maintained that his team had produced a strong season overall.
“I think we made one of the best seasons of all time for Hong Kong,” the Frenchman said. “We finished with podiums in the World Championships [in Italy] and the World Cup [in Japan].
“When you have [opponents] like France or Italy or China or Japan, to finish No 6 in the world is quite nice for Hong Kong.”












View this post on Instagram























A post shared by Greg Koenig (@coachgreg_hk)



Having finished seventh in their debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021, the foil team were beaten to a place this time by China.
At the qualification cut-off earlier this month, they ranked just one spot behind their mainland Chinese counterparts, who claimed the only spot available for an Asia or Oceania team ranked outside the world’s top four.
“I really wanted to qualify the team,” he said. “Because I want all the Hong Kong fencers, in particular Cheung and Ryan [Choi Chun-yin], who have a good ranking, to have the chance to do something in the Olympic Games.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t qualify this time and there are some teams, like Canada, who qualified despite being No 14 in the world. But these are the rules we agreed with, so we have to follow them.
“We always complain when the rules are against us. It doesn’t help us this time, but I am pretty sure it will help us in the future.”
Nations and regions that do not qualify for the team event are permitted to take only one fencer per weapon for the corresponding individual event at the Games. That means that Cheung, the individual Olympic gold medallist in Tokyo in 2021, will be the only men’s foilist donning the city’s flag at Grand Palais on July 29.
Choi is the next highest-ranked Asian foilist among teams that have not qualified, but the 26-year-old had to be left out, with the quota place going instead to Ha Taegyu of South Korea, who is two places behind in the world rankings at No 20.
“We know the rules since the beginning,” Koenig said. “I think the International Olympic Committee wants to make it more worldwide. They want more countries all over the world to qualify for the Olympic Games.
“I am not in [fencing governing body] the FIE or the Olympic committee, so I never thought about this. It takes enough time for me to think how to put my athletes in the best situation under the rules.”
That includes having a closer look at a younger crop of emerging fencers, and the 45-year-old believes the city is blessed with talent at several age levels.

“We have a lot of young fencers who are very strong as well, so I am really confident for the future,” he said. “We are still in the process of identifying a third fencer [to support Cheung and Choi in high-level competitions].
“But with all the youngsters who just competed and triumphed in the team events at the Cadet and Junior Asian Championships, I am sure we will use more young fencers and I am pretty sure we will be able to qualify the team for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.”
Next up for Koenig and his fencers will be the first World Cup to be held in Hong Kong, from May 1 to 4 at AsiaWorld-Expo. Then come the Asian Championships in Kuwait in June.


Japan name Dane Nils Nielsen as first foreign manager of national women’s football team

Paris Olympics less polluting, not ‘carbon neutral’ – so what can Los Angeles 2028 learn?

Olympic discus champion Roje Stona bidding to win NFL deal via international player pathway

Hong Kong Olympian Camille Cheng discusses sacrifices, challenges and ‘impostor syndrome’

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Olympics 2024: what next for Hong Kong foil fencers as only Tokyo gold medallist Cheung Ka-long makes it to Paris?

Cheung Ka-long, with coach Greg Koenig, will be Hong Kong’s only men’s foilist in Paris. Photo: FIE

Qualifying rules mean Ryan Choi (third from left, alongside Cheung) will miss the Olympics. Photo: Reuters

Olympics 2024: meet the Hong Kong women’s fencer being urged to emulate city’s Tokyo gold medallist Cheung Ka-long

Daphne Chan (left) is on her way to the  Olympics. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong’s head coach Greg Koenig with Daphne Chan. Photo: Facebook/Greg Koenig

Daphne Chan takes a break during the Junior World Cup final in Bangkok in late 2022. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong chosen ahead of Singapore to host fencing World Cup, set to feature city’s Olympic champion Cheung Ka-long

Cheung Ka-long has a home World Cup event to look forward to. Photo: Reuters

Ryan Choi (left) takes on Lee Kwang-hyun of South Korea at last year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou. Photo: Dickson Lee

Olympics 2024: Hong Kong fencers in last-chance saloon as defending champion Cheung Ka-long risks going to Paris alone

Cheung Ka-long (far left) may have to go to Paris without his Hong Kong teammates. Photo: SF&OC

Cheung Ka-long (left) won individual gold in Tokyo but his Hong Kong teammates also qualified. Photo: SF&OC

Fencing World Cup: Cheung Ka-long suffers earliest exit of series as Hongkongers crash out in Paris

Cheung Ka-long lost in the last 16 in Paris. Photo: SF&OC

Cheung Ka-long (right) is expected to be Hong Kong’s leading fencing hope at this year’s Olympics. Photo: Xinhua

Sport

Hong Kong

Other Sport

Paris Olympics 2024

Fencing

Hong Kong beaten to final Asia team berth by China, while teams ranked lower globally earned spots via continent quotas
‘These are the rules we agreed with, so we have to follow them,’ Hong Kong coach Gregory Koenig says


‘These are the rules we agreed with, so we have to follow them,’ Hong Kong coach Gregory Koenig says as continent quotas leave defending champion Cheung Ka-long as the city’s only foilist going to Paris.


Hong Kong Sports Institute

Olympics 2024: what next for Hong Kong foil fencers as only Tokyo gold medallist Cheung Ka-long makes it to Paris?

Hong Kong beaten to final Asia team berth by China, while teams ranked lower globally earned spots via continent quotas ‘These are the rules we agreed with, so we have to follow them,’ Hong Kong coach Gregory Koenig says

Hong Kong beaten to final Asia team berth by China, while teams ranked lower globally earned spots via continent quotas

‘These are the rules we agreed with, so we have to follow them,’ Hong Kong coach Gregory Koenig says