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E-mail Xinhua, July 5, 2024
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the delegation of Hong Kong, China won a record haul of one gold, two silver and three bronze medals.
Three years on, with a more mature mindset and stronger willpower, several gifted Hong Kong athletes are poised to lead the team to new heights at the Paris Olympics.
Cheung Ka Long of China's Hong Kong reacts during the ceremony for the men's foil individual gold madal bout at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, on July 26, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhang Hongxiang)
Cheung Ka-Long, who won the men's individual foil title, and Siobhan Haughey, who took home silver medals in the women's 100m and 200m freestyle, have never let their fans down in the past three years and showed they are ready for Paris, which will be the third Olympic Games for both of them.
27-year-old Cheung has proved the person that all fencers want to beat in Paris. He won the champions at the FIE Foil Grand Prix in Turin and Shanghai, and led the HK team to an epic comeback victory against Italy in the team competition final at the Hong Kong leg.
Hong Kong's fencing coach, Gregory Koenig, a former French Olympian, will add a favorable element to Cheung's title defense, since he was born and grew up in Paris.
"The only thing I care about now is making the team proud in my hometown," said Koenig.
Cheung, however, is staying humble. "I think defending the title is great, but more importantly, it's about living up to the usual training and the coach's guidance, performing at the expected level is already enough," he said.
Haughey became Hong Kong's first long-course swimming world champion as she claimed the 200m freestyle title at the World Championships in Doha early this year. She also took a silver in the 100m freestyle and a bronze in the 100m breaststroke. Although these results were achieved in the absence of 200m freestyle world record holder Mollie O'Callaghan of Australia, Haughey is still thought of as one of the favorites to stand atop the podium in Paris.
She will compete in the women's 50m, 100m, 200m, and 400m freestyle, as well as the 100m breaststroke and two relay events.
Born and raised in Hong Kong to an Irish father and a Hong Kong mother, Haughey has been in stupendous form heading to Paris, dominating the three-leg European Mare Nostrum swim tour in her favored 100m and 200m events.
Haughey, a psychology graduate from the University of Michigan, said she can achieve better results in the French capital than those in Tokyo.
"I think life is about continuous growth and learning," she said. "That's why I never want to be complacent with my achievements, because I know I can always be better."
Hong Kong, China has secured 33 Olympic berths from 12 events, with most of the participants having been confirmed. 32-year-old swimmer Stephanie Au will be the delegation's most experienced athlete.
Au, a flagbearer at the 2016 Rio Games, will be competing in her fifth Olympics since making her debut in Beijing 16 years ago.
Hong Kong's other medal hopfuls are mixed doubles badminton pair Tse Ying-suet and Tang Chun-man, who finished fourth in Tokyo.
Tse, competing in her fourth Olympics, said that Paris might be her last Olympic appearance and her goal is to win a medal.
In table tennis, Doo Hoi-kem, who took the women's team bronze in Tokyo, has set her sights on a podium finish again.
Kenneth Fok, vice president of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, would not be drawn on whether the Hong Kong's athletes can win more medals in Paris than in Tokyo three years ago. However, he expressed his optimism about the campaign.
"We are fully ready. We are very happy and confident," he said.
