Young fencer with Hong Kong roots dreams of winning Olympic gold at Brisbane 2032
Amelie Tsang, whose father is from Hong Kong’s New Territories, became Britain’s first women’s cadet world champion in 2023
The fencing bug that gripped the city after Cheung Ka-long’s 2021 Olympic gold bit Amelie Tsang just as much as any Hongkonger, even if she was born 5,981 miles (9,625 kilometres) away in London.
As a young child, picking up a foil for the first time Tsang instantly “fell in love” with the sport. Now she is competing for Great Britain and has her heart set on reaching the 2032 Games in Brisbane.
Connected to the city through her father William Tsang, who is from Lai Chi Wo, a Hakka village in the northeastern part of the New Territories, the 19-year-old paid another visit to Hong Kong last week to compete at the Kerry Fencing World Championships.
“I never lived in Hong Kong, but we do come back and visit every now and then,” she said. “Two thousand and fifteen was the last time I was here before the Women’s Foil World Cup in Hong Kong [in January last year].
“I came back for it with my Dad, and then by myself in January. Now fencing is very popular, and they’re holding more and more competitions [in the city], so I’ll keep coming back.”
Born on August 9, 2006, Tsang grew up playing a variety of sports – hockey, cricket, swimming, gymnastics – and was even a national champion in the latter in a country closer to Hong Kong than her birthplace.