Paris Olympics success shows Hong Kong builds bright future for city’s new sporting talent

This summer’s Paris Olympics was one of Hong Kong’s most successful ever, as the city’s sportsmen and women returned home with two gold and two bronze medals.

Cheung Ka-long successfully defended his Olympic fencing title by claiming gold in the men’s individual foil while Vivian Kong Man-wai won fencing gold in the women’s individual épée.

Swimmer Siobhan Haughey, a two-time silver medallist in the women’s 100m and 200m freestyle at the Tokyo Olympics, joined Cheung as a Hong Kong flag bearer during the opening ceremony in Paris, where she doubled up again to win bronze medals in the same two events.

Another Paris competitor, Wong Chun-ting, Hong Kong’s top men’s table tennis player, just missed out on a mixed doubles medal at his third Olympics when he and Doo Hoi-kem lost their bronze medal match.

Wong, 33, with a career-high world ranking of No 6 in singles in 2017 and 2018, fell in love with the sport as a young child. He says watching the Hong Kong men’s doubles pairing of Ko Lai-chak and Li Ching win silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics inspired him to try to play the game professionally.

“Table tennis was the first sport I played,” he says. “My family and I would play after dinner on a concrete table near our home. Even after trying other sports, I found that I still enjoyed the speed and excitement of table tennis the most.”

The veteran player is excited about the new talented sportsmen and women that have been emerging in the city. He also praises the increased support over the past decade or so from the government, the Hong Kong, China Table Tennis Association and society in general, which has helped to significantly bolster the growth of the Hong Kong table tennis team.