Choi keeps fingers crossed as he eyes Asian Games spot
Victory at the LCSD Open opens door for him to join team event in Hangzhou later this year
Hong Kong foilist Nicholas Choi is likely to take part in his third Asian Games later this year, after winning the LCSD Open Championships title yesterday.
The 30-year-old, who was unbeaten in the pool stage, kept his perfect record at the Hong Kong Park Sports Centre, and won the title for the second time in three years.
Choi, who was third in the local rankings, said he was not really paying attention to where he was placed, rather expecting that if he did his best “the results would take care of themselves”.
“Now, I should be able to go to the Asian Games, but I guess I will be happier after they confirm the list later,” Choi added.
But Choi, who won the individual silver medal five years ago in Jakarta, is only expected to feature in the team event in Hangzhou in September.
Reigning Olympic champion Cheung Ka-long, and world No 18 Ryan Choi Chun-yin, both of whom did not compete yesterday, are expected to take part in the individual event as the city’s top two men’s foilists.
“It was not easy to put your name on the Asian Games list back then,” Nicholas Choi said. “But now, we have a long list of fencers who have the ability to do really well.
“We have the likes of Cheng Tit-nam and Leung Chin-yu. These youngsters can easily swap in and take one of our spots and the team are still going to do well in the team events. This can only be a good thing for us going forward.”
Choi, who beat Leung 10-5 in the final, said he believed the Hong Kong side could take gold in the team event, after claiming silver last time out.
“Hopefully, we will be injury-free this time and we are going one step higher on the podium,” he said.
Choi, who quit the sport in 2018 but returned in 2021, said the year-long delay to the Asian Games because of the coronavirus pandemic had given him enough time to make the squad.
“Since returning to the sport, I have added a bit more to my game and now possess more tactical variations on the piste,” he said. “Cheung and [Ryan] Choi also have a lot of variations. I need to learn from them to do better.”
With four fencers heading to Hangzhou for the team event, Yeung Chi-ka, who lost in the last 16, is expected to take the final spot after his main rival, Lawrence Ng Lok-wang, failed to overtake him in the local rankings.
In men’s sabre, Royce Chan Lok-hei and Chow Chung-hei are expected to join Aaron Ho Szelong and Low Ho-tin at the Asian Games.
Chan defeated Low 15-10 in the quarter-finals, before stunning local No 1 Ho 15-6 in the final to win yesterday, while Chow finished tied-third after losing to Ho 15-8 in the semi-finals.
I should be able to go to the Asian Games, but I guess I will be happier after they confirm the list NICHOLAS CHOI