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.
Edgar 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.
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. 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 championships in July.The left-hander, who has recovered from a recent wrist injury, told AFP he wanted to"prove to our competitors they need to beware of us".Fencing in the city stretches back decades, to when Hong Kong was a British colony, with its amateur fencing association founded in 1949.
Fencers also benefited from a reform to Hong Kong's pipeline for discovering and training talent which allowed Cheung to devote himself to the sport full-time when he was 17 with his parents' blessing. Fencing schools reported a spike in applications, although observers say interest has since tapered off somewhat.Gregory Koenig, who previously coached in his native France and also Taiwan, began working with Hong Kong's fencers five years ago and has developed a close relationship with Cheung.
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