Paris Olympics: Cheung unfazed by prospect of making fencing history, will treat Games as just a ‘normal competition’
- Cheung Ka-long is aiming to become first foilist to win back-to-back gold medals in more than 50 years
- Treating major events like practice sessions helps gold-medal winner feel ‘less nervous’
Defending champion Cheung Ka-long shrugged off the prospect of making history at the Paris Olympics and said he was treating it as just a “normal competition”.
The Hongkonger is looking to become the first foilist to win back-to-back gold medals in more than 50 years, but just hoped to play to his level at the Grand Palais in two months’ time.
“It’s good to be defending a title but I felt [my performance] should be worthy of my daily training, as well as my coach’s instructions,” Cheung said. “Every tournament, be it the world or continental championships, and each practice is training for me.
“There are possibilities for different mistakes or things you did well, so it’s all about adjustments.”
The 26-year-old went to the Tokyo Games with a low ranking, but fought his way to the final before beating Italy’s Daniele Garozzo 15-11 win the gold medal. This time, however, he is just aiming to “try my best”.
“I am embracing [the Olympics] as a normal competition,” he said. “If there’s anything I’ve learned, you tend to be more nervous every time you regard a tournament as a special one.