Daphne Chan Nok-sze on qualifying for Paris Olympics and being inspired by Edgar Cheung Ka Long and Vivian Kong Man-wai

Chan feels lucky to have a family who encourages her sporting journey. Neither parent has a sports background, but they allowed her to pick whatever hobbies she liked as a child and introduced her to a wide variety of sports. When Chan was six, she had her first experience of foil fencing at a local fencing school—which was her least favourite sport at first. “I cried at the first few lessons. When I put on the helmet, it was a little dark and I couldn’t see [clearly] ,” she recalls. “I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I cried. I was scared.”

But under her parents’ encouragement, she took a few more classes and gradually the sport grew on her as she began to appreciate how it boosted her ability to adapt. “Fencing has a lot of changes that you cannot predict,” she explains. “Compared to other sports such as swimming, which you keep practising [and improving] on your own … fencing involves two people. If your opponent changes tactical things or skills, you have to immediately change and adapt to them. That’s the beauty of this sport.”

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Another part of fencing’s appeal is its inclusive nature. While there is no mixing of genders on the pitch, “There’s no disparity between men and women [in terms of resources or advantages]”. She adds that she trains with male athletes and that any shortfall in physical strength can be compensated by strategy and quick thinking. The adaptability and tactical nature of fencing have been useful in other areas of her life, especially in developing “a very good attitude to my academic studies”, encouraging a more lateral approach to learning rather than rote memorisation. She currently splits her time between training with the Hong Kong Sports Institute, participating in competitions and studying at Northwestern University in the US, where she intends to major in business next year, although since last December, much of her focus has been on training for the Olympics.

Chan hasn’t decided whether she will become a full-time athlete when she graduates in three years’ time, but she believes she will always be able to offer advice to those who hope to follow her path. “Like me, you’ll definitely have disappointments when you’ve fenced long enough, and maybe you’ll forget why you like this sport,” she says, “but [as with everything], it’s important to remember your passion, which is the thing that motivates you to keep going forward and go after your dreams.”

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