Hong Kong, China added two bronze medals to its Asian Games campaign in fencing, after both the women’s foil and men’s sabre teams fell in the semifinals.

In the women’s foil team semifinals on Saturday, the SAR quartet of Janelle Leung, Valerie Cheng, Sophia Wu and Daphne Chan lost 27-45 to Japan.

Leung opened against Yuka Ueno, the individual foil champion at the Games, and trailed 3-5 after the first bout.

Cheng and Wu then kept Hong Kong close, leaving the score at 12-15 after three bouts.

The Japanese side, however, continued to dominate with speed and pace to widen the margin.

Chan, the substitute, was introduced in the fifth bout but could not overcome the deficit, with Japan leading from start to finish to secure its place in the final.

In the men’s sabre team semifinals, Hong Kong’s Hugo Ho, Aaron Ho, Royce Chan and Leung Tin-ching lost 24-45 to South Korea.

Hugo Ho trailed 2-5 in the opening bout. South Korea then increased the pace of its attacks, leading throughout and stretching its advantage.

In the anchor bout, Oh Sang-uk, the defending individual sabre champion at the Games, sealed South Korea’s 45-24 victory.

With no third-place match in the team events, Hong Kong still ended the day with two bronze medals.

Hong Kong will have further fencing medal chances on the final day of competition on Sunday, in the men’s épée team and women’s sabre team events.

The men will be up against the United Arab Emirates in the round of 16, while the women take on South Korea in the quarterfinals.





Edited by Azam Khan