Qualification for next year’s Tokyo Olympics is on the cards for Hong Kong’s foil team as they begin the World Cup series in Bonn, Germany, this weekend.
All of the world’s top fencing powers will compete in the German city, vying for the top four Olympic rankings and trying to gain an automatic berth at the 2020 Games.
Hong Kong men’s team are third in the rankings after the first three qualification rounds from last season and with four more to go, they are not without chances for sending a fencing team for the first time in their Olympic history.
Headed by Cheung Ka-long, the world number seven, Ryan Choi Chun-yin, the world number 16, Cheung Siu-lun, the 2018 Asian champion and Yeung Chi-ka, they will rub shoulders with Asian counterparts South Korea, Japan and China, as well as heavyweights such as the US, Italy, France and Russia.
“This World Cup is very important because it tests the fencers’ form after a long summer break,” said Wong Tsan, former Commonwealth men’s foil champion. “Whoever can get back to competition mode the quickest will have an advantage.
“Hong Kong made a strong start in the qualifiers when they finished with a silver medal in the opening round in the Saint Petersburg World Cup, followed by a fifth place at the world championships in Budapest before the season closed. If they can reach the semi-finals again in Bonn, they can safeguard their position in the qualifiers and make it easier for them to reach next year’s Tokyo Games.”
If they can reach the semi-finals again in Bonn, they can safeguard their position in the qualifiers and make it easier for them to reach next year’s Tokyo Games – Wong Tsan, former Commonwealth men’s foil champion
The Hong Kong team arrived Bonn last week to ensure the best preparation for the crucial event.
Wong said the Hong Kong team are lucky to have two talented young fencers, Cheung Ka-long and Choi, both 22, and if veteran Cheung Siu-lun can utilise his experience, they can take on any team. In Saint Petersburg in May, Hong Kong, represented by the same quartet, eliminated Italy in the quarters before routing France to reach the final, where they were beaten by the world number one United States.
The Olympic qualifiers will close in early April 2020 with three more rounds of the World Cup to be taken into consideration after Bonn. They are in Tokyo, Paris and Cairo. The top four teams, irrespective of which zone they are from, will qualify, plus the highest ranked team from each of the four zones (Africa, America, Asia-Oceania, Europe) among the teams ranked from the fifth to the 16th position on the rankings.
Hong Kong have 156 points, just four more than fourth placed Italy, while Egypt, South Korea and Russia are tied in fifth, all with 136 points. The US stay on top with 256 while second placed France have 204.
If Hong Kong cannot qualify through the team event, they can only send one in each of the six individual fencing events through the individual adjusted official ranking. Choi is third in the individual rankings.
