Home

Olympics

CRAZY! Fans Storm Into Hong Kong Malls to Celebrate Gold Medal Victory at Tokyo Olympics 2020

Published 07/27/2021, 10:17 AM EDT

Follow Us

24-year-old fencer Cheung Ka-Long etched his name in Hong Kong’s Olympic history yesterday. While competing in the Men’s individual foil event, he clinched the country’s second Olympic gold medal after an impressive display on Day 3 of the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

The World No. 19 defeated Italy’s Daniele Garozzo 15-11 in the final to make Hong Kong the 27th country to win a gold medal at the Games. While the fencer celebrated on the podium in Tokyo, fans back in Hong Kong erupted with unbridled joy.

Cheung scripts history at Tokyo Olympics 2020 as fans celebrate in Hong Kong

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

The left-handed fencer made his Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he finished 11th. During the four years that followed, Cheung impressed in various international fencing tournaments across the world.

He won a silver medal at the 2017 Asian Championships held in Hong Kong in the individual discipline. In 2018, he followed it up with a bronze medal at the 2018 Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia, while also winning a silver medal at the 2019 Turin Grand Prix.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest Olympics stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

Despite his world ranking of 19, the 24-year-old carried Hong Kong’s medal hopes in Tokyo. In fact, he shared flag bearer duties with badminton player Tse Ying-Suet during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics.

via Reuters

And the 24-year-old didn’t disappoint, shouldering that responsibility with great aplomb. His victory sent the people of Hong Kong wild, with some of them flocking shopping malls to watch the final.

Cheung became Hong Kong’s second gold medalist since Lee Lai Shan at the 199 Atlanta Games. Shan won his gold medal in sailing that year.

INCREDIBLE! Taylor-Brown Wins a Silver Medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in the Triathlon With a Flat Tyre

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Cheung defeated the World No. 1 en route to gold

The 24-year-old only faced right-handed fencers in all his matches in Tokyo yesterday. However, he put on exquisite performances to get past all of them to secure gold. In fact, he dominated World No. 1 Alessio Foconi in the Round of 16 to script a shock 15-3 victory which took him to the quarterfinals.

via Reuters

Although Garozzo ranked 12 places above him, Cheung didn’t let that stop him from scripting his name in the history books. One can expect the Hong Kong fencer to move up in the rankings in the coming days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

WATCH STORY: Tokyo Olympics 2020: Biggest Upsets in Swimming, Basketball, Tennis and Other Sports

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Sanket Nair

878Articles

One take at a time

Sanket Nair is an F1 Author at EssentiallySports. A Sports Management student, he is a huge fan of Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo and hopes to see Red Bull break Mercedes' dominance and win the World Championship soon. Sanket has been hooked to the sport ever since he watched the battle for the 2010 World Championship go down to the wire at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Show More>