Olympic wins offer golden opportunity for HK fencing

HONG KONG — Twelve-year-old Hong Kong fencing beginner Lloyd found a new role model over the weekend — "Sword Queen" Vivian Kong Man-wai, who clawed back a 7-1 deficit in the women's epee final to win Olympic gold in Paris.

"I woke up to the pleasant surprise of Vivian Kong (winning)," Lloyd told reporters on Monday at a fencing school in the Central district of Hong Kong, China.

On Saturday, the 30-year-old Kong became only the third Hong Kong athlete in history to have a gold medal draped around her neck after beating France's Auriane Mallo-Breton in front of a fiercely partisan crowd at the Paris Games.

She won 13-12 in the most thrilling fashion, a final, sudden-death point securing victory in the nail-biting contest, after it finished tied at 12-12 after regulation time.

"It was very inspiring. It was just very nice to see the spirit she had," said Lloyd before starting his fencing class.

"She did not give up, she kept having to climb her way up. She chased the challenge and managed to get the gold medal," he said. "I was very happy for Hong Kong."

Later on Monday, in Paris, fellow fencer Cheung Ka-long took home the gold medal in the final bout of the men's individual foil — successfully defending the title he won at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

Kong joins Cheung and windsurfer Lee Lai-shan at Atlanta 1996 as Hong Kong's only Olympic champions.

Kong, a graduate of Stanford University in the United States, has battled back twice from torn cruciate ligaments, one in each knee, to rise to world No 1 and achieve Olympic glory.

In a tearful post-match interview at the Grand Palais — a 124-year-old exhibition hall that Paris transformed into an Olympic venue — Kong said that fencing "in such a beautiful palace was one of my dreams".

"I didn't want to lose so miserably," she said about her fightback from the six-point deficit.

"I didn't want to give up without demonstrating the Hong Kong spirit in my fight."

The impact of Kong's win was immediate, said Lau Kwok-kin, a retired Olympian who now teaches fencing at the school where Lloyd trains in a class of about six youngsters, only one of which is a girl.

Lau said that the school has received more calls from parents of young girls since Kong's victory.

"Vivian Kong being a woman athlete has, perhaps, enabled some parents to see the possibility of their girls winning an Olympic medal," Lau said.

Lau was the first fencer to represent Hong Kong at the Olympics — competing in 2004 and 2008 — and the 47-year-old attributed Kong's success to the systematic training provided by the Hong Kong Sports Institute.

The government-funded body also provides athletes with better financial support than in the past.

"Back then we didn't have much time for training, and we often did it after class or work, when we were already tired," Lau said.

"But now, being an athlete is a full-time job."

Lau added that the training plan for an elite athlete now covers "everything from retreat, practicing competition techniques and physical conditioning".

"It is a much more professional model than what we had before — that's why the performances are now better."

Lau said that the city could uncover more talent if "satellite training bases" outside the Hong Kong Sports Institute could be set up around the city, and if parents could lend more support.

Lloyd, who attends classes three times a week since taking up the sport a year ago, said he "most definitely" wants to be fencing more, but school work takes up a lot of time.

"I still hold fencing very high in my priorities, (but) I might have to cut down on how much I can do in a week, because I have tests to study and prepare for," he said.

AFP