Tokyo Olympics: Cheung Ka-long makes history for Hong Kong with fencing gold

The long wait is finally over. Twenty-five years after Lee Lai-shan won a historic gold medal for Hong Kong at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, fencer Edgar Cheung Ka-long carved his place in history by winning gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Monday (July 26).

Cheung, 24, can now lay claim to being the finest foil fencer in the world after destroying the defending Olympic champion, Italy's Daniele Garozzo, in an incredible run to the top of the podium.

Hong Kong have won only two other Olympic medals – a silver for Li Ching and Ko Lai-chak in the men's table tennis doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics and track cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze's bronze in the keirin at the 2012 London Games. The 34-year-old Lee is a leading medal hope in the sprint and keirin in Tokyo next week.

"I beat an Olympic champion to become an Olympic champion!" Cheung said. "Before the draw was made, I knew I might meet him. I joked then with my coach that if I could beat an Olympic champion, I should call myself an Olympic champion."

Cheung, who will collect a HK$5 million cash award for winning gold, told the younger generation of fencers: "If you work hard and do not give up, being an Olympic champion is not just a dream."

"He lost to a left-hander recently and I watched the footage to study and beat him," Cheung said.

"This medal came a bit fast. I never thought I could win a gold medal today … even a silver medal would have been a surprise."

Asked if he is prepared for superstar status back in Hong Kong, Cheung said: "Luckily, I'm going straight to China [to compete at the National Games] so I can avoid it all. I'm a very shy person."

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was one of the first to congratulate Cheung.

"Like other Hong Kong residents, I have followed closely Cheung's competitions today through the live broadcast and rooted for him. Cheung's skills were superb, he remained composed throughout and displayed fighting spirit in times of adversity," said Lam in a statement.

(Source: SCMP)