Published on : 06/07/2024
Ouvrons Grand les Jeux, Games wide open！
The highly anticipated Paris Olympics is held from July 26 to August 11.
The "Our China Story" website has specially launched a Paris Olympics special series, capturing every splendid moment and sharing interesting stories of it.
This article tells the story of Hong Kong's "Fencing God" Edgar Cheung Ka Long (張家朗), who has just successfully defended his championship at the Paris Olympics.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021, 24-year-old Cheung Ka Long won the men's foil gold, giving Hong Kong its second gold medal after the first one by Lee Lai Shan in the 1996 Olympics.
Cheung's success was no fluke. Back in April 2016, he was already the champion of the 2016 Asian Fencing Championships. Since then, he always had his sights set on the Olympics.
Cheung Ka Long fell in love with fencing
Standing at 193cm tall, Cheung Ka Long was exposed to basketball from a young age since his parents were both basketball players in the 1980s.
However, after learning fencing during the summer of his fourth grade, he found the movements of fencing very intriguing, and he relished the challenges of the tactical application, stamina, and speed that the sport presented.
With the approval of his parents, Cheung Ka Long dedicated himself to fencing.
In just a few years, he made rapid progress, deciding to drop out of school in his fourth grade and become a full-time athlete.
After sweeping four gold medals in the Asian Youth Fencing Championship in 2014, Cheung made his way to the Hong Kong team. In September of the same year, he won a men's foil team bronze medal at the Asian Games in South Korea.
In 2015, he once again fought for the bronze medal in the individual event at the Asian Games, performing remarkably well.
Cheung Ka Long became the first Hong Kong champion
In 2016, Cheung Ka Long showcased his dominance in the games of the Asian Fencing Championships. The then 19-year-old successively defeated the Korean Asian Games champion Heo Jun, the Japanese World champion Yuki Ota, the Chinese Olympic gold medallist Lei Sheng (雷聲), and the Japanese World junior champion Takahiro Shikine, claiming the individual gold medal and becoming the Asian champion — the first ever for Hong Kong at the Asian Games.
What impressed Cheung Ka Long most about that competition was the moment when he was significantly behind during the finals and just one point away from losing.
However, he withstood the pressure with calm strike. When drawing level, he finally dared to assertively attack, and eventually succeeded in turning the game around.
Cheung Ka Long was referred to as the "Young Fencing God" by the Hong Kong media, but he remained humble and aimed for higher goals, specifically the goal of becoming an Olympic champion.
Cheung Ka Long won the second Olympic gold for HK
In 2016, Cheung Ka Long qualified for the Olympics for the first time but unfortunately was eliminated in the round of 16, which encouraged him to further develop his strength, speed, skill, footwork, and competition strategies, in hopes of winning an Olympic medal for Hong Kong in fencing.
With continuous improvement in both will and skill, he claimed gold at the World Junior & Cadet Fencing Championships, and also won the Asian Championships runner-up and World Cup third place in 2017.
It may seem like a smooth ride, but there have been dark days. Before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Cheung Ka Long had some unsteady days causing doubt in himself.
"My ranking dropped out of the top 16. I questioned whether I deserved to be in the top 16. I hesitated for a long time, tried different methods, and discussed with my coach about what mindset I should have for the games."
Read more: Counting each of Hong Kong's Olympic medallists
Hard work always pays off. When Cheung Ka Long finally defeated the reigning champion in the finals of the Tokyo Olympics and won the Olympic gold medal, he removed the mask and his face was filled with disbelief.
From doubting whether he could step on the podium, to defeating his rivals step by step to achieve his dream of becoming the champion, Cheung Ka Long described the whole process as very surreal.
After the game, he also encouraged everyone to "persevere and not give up too easily." This is a timeless truth for both athletes and ordinary people like you and me.
The upcoming Paris Olympics will be Cheung Ka Long's third time participating in the Olympics.
Unlike the last time, he is participating this time as a reigning champion, and being both a challenger and a hypothetical rival to others inevitably brings more pressure on him.
Cheung Ka Long said, looking back at his previous participation in the Olympic, he was a bit nervous in the first one, not so much in the second, and this year's mood is more or less the same.
About defending his title, Cheung Ka Long believes it is necessary to face it with equanimity, "I think it's a good thing to be able to defend the title, but what's more important is to live up to my daily training, my coach's guidance, and deliver my potential performance."
Cheung Ka Long hopes to enjoy the competition and feels that winning the championship at the 2024 FIE Fencing Grand Prix Foil in Shanghai before the Olympics has successfully boosted his confidence.
Hope that Cheung Ka Long will continue to create history and bring glory to Hong Kong!
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