Hong Kong fencers face high expectations at Asian Games after Kerry World Championships success

Olympic golds, a cupboard full of medals and a historic men’s foil team silver at the Kerry Fencing World Championships mean the city’s athletes head to next month’s Asian Games with the weight of expectation on their shoulders.

Success is no longer just hoped for when it comes to the men and women who will represent Hong Kong in Japan, it is almost demanded, even if individuals such as Ryan Choi Chun-yin and Cheung Ka-long have been found wanting recently.

The realities of what lies ahead are different from the expectations for a group who won a record nine medals, including gold for Cheung and silver for the women’s épée team, at the previous Games in Hangzhou.

"The more the merrier, of course, but to win eight or nine medals [overall] again, that’s a very huge number," Zheng Kangzhao, Hong Kong’s head coach, said. "Coaches and athletes will march towards their goals, but competitions are just unpredictable. Being able to seize opportunities in split seconds is one thing, but athletes also need to possess that skill level. There are just too many chances on the piste."

Greg Koenig, the foil mastermind who has produced three world champions across different tiers, as well as turning Cheung into a double Olympic champion, believes success is within his fencers’ grasp in Nagoya.

Whether the top podium step belongs to Hong Kong, however, depends "on the context of the competition."