Hong Kong fencers Ryan Choi Chun-yin and Edgar Cheung Ka-long took contrasting routes through the men's individual foil pool stage at the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Tuesday (Sept. 22).
Choi went unbeaten in all five of his pool bouts to advance directly to the last 16, while Cheung endured a difficult campaign, winning two and losing three to narrowly qualify for the last 32.
Choi, drawn in Pool 2, faced fencers from the Philippines, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Chinese Taipei and Singapore. He won all five bouts, including two consecutive 5-0 victories at the start of the competition, and finished second overall in the pool to secure a direct place in the last 16.
Cheung, meanwhile, competed in Pool 3 and made a slower start. He narrowly defeated opponents from Thailand and Kuwait in his opening two bouts before losing his next three against fencers from Macao, Qatar and Uzbekistan.
With a 2-3 record, Cheung finished 22nd overall to qualify for the last 32.
At 12:50 p.m. HK time, Cheung will face Uzbekistan's Daniil Kravtsov in the last 32. Kravtsov defeated Cheung 5-4 in their pool-stage bout.
Choi, who advanced directly to the last 16, will take on either Kazakhstan's Timofey Semyonov or India's Sachin at 1:30 p.m. HK time for a place in the quarterfinals.
Related News:
Asian Games | China breaks world record in men's 10m air rifle team event
Comment