Liverpool quadruple? Cheung Ka-long has his own quest for historic 4 prizes

Fencing star hailed by Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam after adding world No 1 ranking to Olympic crown

Cheung’s coach eyes world title and says he has ‘good chance to make history’ at Asian Games

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Cheung Ka-long, who has reached the top of the world rankings, will target a gold medal for Hong Kong in September’s Asian Games. Photo: SCMP

Published: 9:02pm, 18 Apr 2022Updated: 1:07pm, 19 Apr 2022

Hong Kong’s Cheung Ka-long can make more history at this year’s Asian Games and World Championships after the “huge achievement” of topping the global rankings, his coach says.

Cheung became world No 1 on Monday, to add to his success at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, and he could complete a quadruple of firsts before 2022 is out, according to fencing head coach Zheng Kangzhao.

Nine months after claiming Hong Kong’s first Olympic gold medal in fencing – and only its second in any sport – the 24-year-old became his city’s first foil No 1 by coming fifth in the Belgrade World Cup.

It even attracted the attention of Hong Kong’s leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who congratulated Cheung and wished him and his teammates success in the team event.

In a post on Facebook, Lam called reaching the top spot “a great achievement” after Cheung wrote “a glorious page for Hong Kong” with his Tokyo heroics.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor congratulates Cheung Ka-long on becoming world No 1. Photo: Facebook

The Hong Kong foil team, ranked sixth in the world, were last night preparing for a semi-final against Poland after beating Romania, Great Britain and Japan.