Hong Kong's Golden Win

Cheung admiring his medal on the podium

 

Hong Kong is celebrating its first medal of the Tokyo 2020 Games tonight with fencer Edgar Cheung Ka-long clinching gold in the men's individual foil. It's a massive morale booster not only for the Hong Kong team but for the city as well, with people cheering in sports bars and in shopping malls watching the win.

The 24-year-old beat defending Olympic champion Italian Daniele Garozzo to make the podium finish.

"I beat an Olympic champion to become an Olympic champion! 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 said.

Cheung beat Garozzo to win gold in fencing

He has done just that with Hong Kong's second gold medal, 25 years after Lee Lai-shan won gold in windsurfing in the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. Hong Kong has two other medals,  a silver for Li Ching and Ko Lai-chak in the men's table tennis doubles in the 2004 Athens Olympics, and track cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze's bronze in the keirin at the 2012 London Games.

Coming into the competition Hong Kong media covering the event said Cheung looked calm and composed, but after it was over he admitted that he was nervous all day and in each competition. His coach, Greg Koenig said that when he first started working with Cheung, he knew he would be an Olympic champion in three years but he did not expect it to happen so fast.  

Lee Lai-shan with Hong Kong's first gold in 1996

Cheung's win will definitely be a boost for fencing in Hong Kong. His advice for younger fencers: "If you work hard and not give up, being an Olympic champion is not just a dream." 

Windsurfing queen Lee is also very pleased with the young fencer, saying: "I said when I won gold in Atlanta that 'Hong Kong athletes are not rubbish', and Edgar has proved that. Not only him but we have so many athletes who work so hard and are top 10 or top 20 in the world and this is something to be proud of."

Along with his gold medal, he will collect HK$5 million cash and surely sponsorships will come knocking at his door.  

For Hong Kong this is an amazing celebration after over two tough years with the anti-government protests and now Covid-19. 

Bronze medallist Lee going for gold in Tokyo

Finally something we can all get behind.