World No 1

Fencer Edgar Cheung Ka-long has become the world No 1 in foil - a first for Hong Kong - after reaching the quarterfinals of the individual event at the World Cup in Serbia.

The feat marked the end of the nine-month wait for Cheung to become the top-ranked foil fencer after he won gold in the Tokyo Olympics last summer.

Cheung, 24, also snatched a gold medal at the Fencing World Cup in Paris in January.

Cheung was in good form early in Belgrade as he eased past Singaporean Samuel Robson, ranked 544 in the world, 15-6 and fended off world No 30 Edoardo Luperi from Italy 15-9 before cruising past world No 39 Ha Tae-gyu from South Korea 15-6.

But the 24-year-old Hongkongers met his match in the quarterfinals in 32-year-old Italian Giorgio Avola - ranked 25 in the world.

Cheung had also lost all three previous matchups against Avola.

In Belgrade, Cheung took the lead against Avola at 4-3 but then lost eight straight points and was knocked out of the tournament 15-7.

World No 1 Alessio Foconi, however, fared worse as he was eliminated by 30-year-old Briton James Davis, ranked 114 in the world, in the first round 15-8.

The 32-year-old Foconi's surprise early defeat enabled Cheung - who was trailing by just two points in the world rankings before the competition - to take over.

According to the International Fencing Federation, Cheung is now ahead of Japanese Shikine Takahiro in the world rankings by 20 points. Foconi dropped to third - seven points behind Takahiro.

At the Tokyo Games last year, Cheung dominated Foconi 15-3 in the round of 16.

Fencing head coach Zheng Kangzhao said Cheung's rise to the top proves the ability of Hong Kong athletes. And as for Cheung, he is only bound to improve, Zheng added.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor congratulated Cheung on Facebook.

"This is Ka-long writing another splendid chapter for local fencing after snatching Hong Kong's first Olympic gold medal since the handover in last year's Tokyo Olympics," Lam wrote.

Sole chief executive candidate John Lee Ka-chiu said: "The success story of Cheung Ka-long showed that Hong Kong is full of talent and people can achieve their dreams if they put effort into it."

Lee added that Cheung's success also reflected that Hong Kong's athletes have a place on the world stage.

In Belgrade last night, Cheung led the fifth-seeded Hong Kong men's foil fencing team into the semifinals after fending off fourth-seeded Japan 45-35.

Cheung started off strong against Japan's Takahiro 5-2, while Edward Choi went on a run to make the match 10-3. Ryan Choi Chun-yin further extended the lead to 15-5 and the team kept the advantage till the end to reach the semifinals.

Hong Kong eliminated 28th-seeded Romania 45-24 earlier when the rest of the team showed top form while Cheung took a break. He was replaced by 27-year-old Yeung Chi-ka.

Cheung returned against Britain in the round of 16 and led Hong Kong to a nailbiting 45-41 win.

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com