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Hong Kong primary school to set up HK$4 million fencing centre for pupils
- Training and competition facility, to be located at Po Leung Kuk Riverain Primary School in Ma On Shan, will provide space for school’s 800 pupils to give the sport a try
- Interest in fencing has soared since Hong Kong star Edgar Cheung won gold at Tokyo Olympics last month
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A Hong Kong primary school plans to set up a HK$4 million (US$513,400) fencing centre on campus to encourage more pupils to pick up the sport, following athlete Edgar Cheung Ka-long’s historic victory at the Tokyo Olympics.
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The training and competition centre, to be located at Po Leung Kuk Riverain Primary School in Ma On Shan, will provide space for its about 800 pupils to give the sport a try. Children who are not from the school can also sign up for lessons at half the price of regular fencing classes.
Fencer Cheung, 24, beat the defending Olympic champion, Italy’s Daniele Garozzo, to win the men’s foil individual gold in Tokyo last month. He is the city’s second Games gold medallist after windsurfer Lee Lai-shan in 1996.
“Fencing is an indoor sport which requires good physical fitness, quick reactions and a high level of concentration, and is very suitable for primary school pupils,” principal Choi Man-kwan said. “Hong Kong’s fencing athletes have also performed very well in different competitions.”
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She added: “But the cost to learn fencing is not low, with equipment being quite expensive, while there is a lack of training places for pupils.”
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