Hong Kong Falls Short of Men’s Foil Team Gold at Kerry Fencing World Championships

Hong Kong missed out on men’s foil team gold at the Kerry Fencing World Championships in agonising fashion on Tuesday, with a 45-44 defeat at the hands of Italy. While the city team’s run to the final at AsiaWorld-Expo represented their best World Championships performance, eclipsing the bronze they won in Milan three years ago, the silver was tinged with disappointment. Spearheaded by Cheung Ka-long, the two-time reigning Olympic champion, 2025 individual world gold medallist Ryan Choi Chun-yin and teenager Harris Ho, Hong Kong comfortably beat Macau and Belgium, before overcoming Hungary 45-37 in their quarter-final. Thumped in the last-eight by USA 12 months ago, they gained revenge for that defeat with a gripping 45-43 semi-final victory over the Americans, but could not stop the Italians from retaining the crown they won last year, throwing away a final in which they led by as many as eight points at one stage. The hosts entered the final bout with a 40-36 lead, but Choi was outscored 9-4 by Guillaume Bianchi, leaving the world No 7 apologising to his teammates right after the final. “There was disappointment, but we achieved a very good result as a team today, and we all stood up to cheer and fight for our teammates when one of us was not playing well,” Cheung said. “It’s a shame to lose by one point, but our team spirit improved as we bonded together, and we could showcase our team’s strength steadily.