ASIAN -HONG KONG- APPLE : FENCING HOPES HONOUR

 

ASIAN GAMES : '' Beware of us '' : Hong Kong carries fencing hope. Despite being one of smaller teams by population, the city is a regional heavyweight in sport.

Hong Kong is one of the smaller Asian Games teams by population, but when it comes to fencing the city is a regional heavyweight with ambitious medal hopes.

Edhar Cheung won gold at the Covid-delayed Tokyo games two years ago - Hong Kong's first Olympic fencing title and first Olympic gold in any sport in a quarter of a century.

It turned Cheung into a celebrity overnight and prompted parents across the Chinese territory of 7.5 million people to rush and sign their children up for fencing classes.

Cheung's historic win in the foil competition was a much-needed dose of good news for a city mired in social unrest and pandemic gloom at the time.

With more funding and public attention as a result, Cheung and his team-mates now hope to stamp their mark on the Asian Games in Hangzhou when they open on Saturday.

Despite a strong record at recent editions, including eight medals in the sport in 2018, Hong Kong is yet to win fencing gold at the Asian Games.

'' No matter for individual or team events, I hope we can [win gold at last],'' the softly spoken Cheung, 26, said.

The city will have 24 fencers, 12 women and 12 men, at the Games.

Another gold-medal contender is 29-year-old Vivian Kong, who is ranked number two in the world in women's epee.

There is also Ryan Choi, who along with Cheung was part of the Hong Kong team that won bronze in the men's team foil at the world championship in July. [AFP]