Hong Kong’s women’s épée squad saw their gold-medal dreams dashed on Tuesday afternoon, losing 33-28 to a relentless Fujian side in a tense National Games semifinal at Kai Tak Sports Park that slipped away in the final third.
The match started brightly when Chan Wai-ling edged the opening bout 3-2, but Kaylin Hsieh Sin-yan and Chu Ka-mong both dropped tight exchanges to leave Hong Kong trailing 6-8 after the first cycle.
Chan leveled the score at 10-10 with a strong 4-2 win in round four, yet Fujian steadily pulled ahead, exploiting a 1-3 loss by Hsieh and a 3-5 setback for Chu to lead 18-14 heading into the anchor legs.
Desperate tactical substitutions in the final rotation failed to stem the tide.
Reserve Wu Haidi fell 2-5, Chan lost another close bout 3-4, and despite Hsieh’s valiant 9-6 flourish in the decisive ninth leg, Hong Kong could not close the gap and bowed out at 28-33.
The results send the team into the bronze-medal match, where they will have a chance to add to Hong Kong’s medal tally.
