A year older but Hong Kong fencer Cheung Siu-lun is not going to miss the Tokyo Games for the world
- Veteran fencer is likely to be the oldest Hong Kong competitor at the Tokyo Olympics but will boost our medal hopes in the men’s team foil competition
- Cheung will compete in his first and last Olympics – that’s if the Tokyo Games go ahead
Veteran fencer Cheung Siu-lun has extended his career by another year because of the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics but he still believes he can still be a force despite his advancing age.
Cheung, who turned 34 last week, was meant to have competed in Tokyo next month and then say his goodbyes to the sport. But the coronavirus pandemic has changed his plans with his decision to postpone his retirement for another year something he thought was the proper thing to do to bring an end to his fascinating career.
These days Cheung can be seen working tirelessly at the Sports Institute’s fencing hall, practising with his men’s foil teammates as they prepare for Tokyo 2021. The delay in the Olympics meant he will need to wait a year longer before he quits the sport to run his own business. But the Olympics remain a dream for Cheung and he wasn’t going to miss it for the world.
“I have to delay my career plans for obvious reasons,” said the fencer of the pandemic that has thrown thousands of athletes around the world into disarray. “Even though I might be a bit too old at 35 at next summer’s Games, it’s still a dream of any athlete to compete at the Olympics. And this will be my first and last chance competing,” said the local fencer, who was unable to qualify for the London and Rio Games after a series of misfortunes.
“The team has gone through 12 months of tough qualifying before we punched our tickets to Tokyo. We will have to keep the momentum going with another year to go before the Olympics.”
