Cover Fencer Cheung Ka-long makes history as the first Hongkonger to snatch a gold medal at the FIE World Cup (Photo: FIE/Facebook)
Fencer Cheung Ka-long makes history as the first Hongkonger to snatch a gold medal at the FIE World Cup (Photo: FIE/Facebook)
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The Olympic champion is the first Hongkonger to win a gold medal at the FIE World Cup
Fencing world number four and Hong Kong Olympic gold medalist, Edgar Cheung Ka-long made history once again after he clinched a gold medal at the FIE World Cup in Paris—the first for a Hongkonger.
The event is Cheung’s first since winning Hong Kong’s first-ever gold medal for fencing at the Tokyo Olympics. The fencing champion emerged as the winner in the men’s individual foil after beating Italy’s Edoardo Luperi 15–12 in the finals, bringing glory to Hong Kong.
Cheung’s rivals, world number two Gerek Meinhardt of the US placed 33rd while world number three Daniele Garozzo of Italy placed fifth in the men’s individual foil respectively. This brings Cheung—a Tatler Asia’s Most Influential honouree—closer to becoming ranked number one in the world.
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The Hong Kong fencer first beat out France’s Alexandre Ediri 15–13 in the individual round’s 64. After that, he won against South Korea’s Ha Tae-gyu in a round of 32. Then, he edged out another Korean fencer, Kim Dong-su 15–15 in the round of 16.
In the nail-biting quarterfinals, the 24-year-old fencer went up against world number 12 Enzo Lefort which saw the Hongkonger fall behind 6–8, but he recovered and flawlessly scored eight straight points to win the match 15–19.
Cheung then swiftly snatched another win over world number one Alesso Foconi from Italy in the semi-finals. With just an hour of rest, Cheung went up against number 58 Luperi in the finals and stunningly finished 15–18 to bring home the coveted gold medal.
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Above Hong Kong’s Cheung against Italy’s Ediri in the finals (Photo: FIE/Facebook)
Hong Kong’s Cheung against Italy’s Ediri in the finals (Photo: FIE/Facebook)
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“I'm really happy,” Cheung said after his gold-winning performance. “And the chance of becoming world number one is bigger now.”
Cheung’s historic win comes after double Olympic silver medalist Siobhan Haughey became the first Hong Kong swimmer to break the world record for women’s 200mm freestyle, clocking in at 1:50.31 at the FINA World Swimming Champions.
The performances of the two athletes show that the future of Hong Kong sports is in good hands.
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Jianne is a Hong Kong-born, bred and based Filipino. She graduated with a degree in International Journalism from Hong Kong Baptist University and went to work in Japan a travel writer. Upon returning to Hong Kong, she joined Tatler as a digital writer.
