Hong Kong fencing coach Greg Koenig backs Cheung Ka-long to regain form after slow start

The Frenchman has requested that the ex-world No 1 ‘be ready for the team event’ this season to help foilists qualify for Olympics

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Cheung Ka-long (left), a two-time Olympic champion, has made a slow start to the season. Photo: handout

Published: 5:00pm, 27 Jan 2026

Greg Koenig said it was still too early to worry about one of his top fencers after two-time Olympic champion Cheung Ka-long’s slow start to the season.

The decorated left-hander finished No 19 and No 21 at World Cup appearances in Fukuoka in December 2025 and Paris in January 2026, and has reached the podium only twice in 12 competitions since winning Olympic gold at the Grand Palais in Paris 18 months ago.

A red card and a second-round exit at the regional championships last June were followed by a stunning first-round loss at the World Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, a month later, but Koenig said Cheung remained “a top fencer in the world” on any given day.

“Even if he does not perform perfectly, nobody in the world would be happy to face Cheung Ka-long; he is able to win the next competition,” the Frenchman said.

“He is able to win in Turin next month [at the Grand Prix].

“Maybe he will lose in the first round, but that is no big deal. Sometimes he loses a bit of his confidence, mindset and focus, but he will slowly come back again.”

Hong Kong fencing coach Greg Koenig backs Cheung Ka-long to regain form after slow start

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Frenchman has requested that the ex-world No 1 ‘be ready for the team event’ this season to help foilists qualify for Olympics

The Frenchman has requested that the ex-world No 1 ‘be ready for the team event’ this season to help foilists qualify for Olympics