Vivian Kong’s Olympic gold medal lauded as ‘glory for the Chinese’ – social media reacts
- Clips of the historic win in the women’s épée final went viral on Chinese social media platforms
Hong Kong fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai clinching the city’s first gold medal at the Paris Olympics was met with excitement from Chinese netizens, who claimed Kong’s victory as a triumph for China.
Clips of Kong’s historic win in the women’s épée final went viral on Chinese social media platforms, with many celebrating the jaw-dropping moment when Kong won 13-12 in the sudden-death tiebreaker round.
Netizens lauded Kong’s calm demeanour and mental resilience as the 30-year-old had been trailing 7-1, but came back to stun Auriane Mallo-Breton of France in the early hours of Sunday.
Others praised Kong’s beaming smile, elegance and brains after learning that she was a Stanford University graduate and holds a Juris Doctor law degree at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Many netizens said Kong’s win was a redress for the nation, after defending Olympic women’s épéé champion, China’s Sun Yiwen, was knocked out in a major shock during her opening bout against Japan’s Miho Yoshimura a day previous.