National Games: Hong Kong fencers Aaron Ho, Kaylin Hsieh win first medals but fall short
Historic sabre for city and first individual bronze for épéeist come tinged with disappointment, and both hope to do better in team event
Emotions ran high at Kai Tak Arena on Saturday as Hong Kong fencers collected two notable National Games medals, even if their hopes of gold were dashed.
Aaron Ho Sze-long brought home a historic first sabre medal for the city in claiming men’s silver, while épéeist Kaylin Hsieh Sin-yan added a maiden individual bronze.
After emerging from the group stage, Ho grew in confidence and swept aside successive opponents, including 2018 Asian Games bronze medallist Xu Yingming of Guangdong, to reach the historic Games final. No sabreist from the city had ever reached the last four at the Chinese multi-sport bonanza.
However, a 15-7 loss at the hands of Shandong representative Wei Zhenhao marked the end of the amazing run by Ho, who applauded the thousands of fans after the heartbreaking defeat.
“There’s no sense of relief [despite this medal being a breakthrough for the team] because I really wanted the gold medal,” the 30-year-old said. “I’m not particularly happy right now either. We wanted a breakthrough at this National Games; it’s a pity that I missed out on the gold medal.
“I did not think about reaching the podium, it’s always one bout after another. I did not think about the rankings but it’s not a surprise to reach the podium – I felt this is what I could achieve.”
