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

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

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.

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.

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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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