Hong Kong fencer Ryan Choi wins city foil title without striking a blow, as rival withdraws with knee injury
- Ryan Choi wins Hong Kong Open Fencing Championships category after knee injury forces Nicholas Choi out of final
- Defending champion Valerie Cheng Hiu-wai beats Sophia Wu 15-12 in the women’s foil final
Ryan Choi Chun-yin won the men’s foil at the Hong Kong Open Fencing Championships on Sunday without striking a blow and hopes his luck carries over to the World Cup in Tokyo later this week.
The 25-year-old, who was seeded first in the knockout stage after winning all his pool matches, had expected to face Nicholas Choi in the final, but his opponent withdrew with knee problems.
Neither Choi has faced the other in competition for a year, and Ryan Choi bemoaned the lack of a bout at the AsiaWorld-Expo.
“It’s a shame because I really wanted to compete in the final,” he said. “I actually wanted to test my anti-pressure ability in the final before the Tokyo World Cup next week.”
In the absence of defending champion Cheung Ka-long, who opted to miss the tournament to concentrate on preparing for the competition in Tokyo World Cup, the men’s foil was wide open, and it was Ryan Choi, the world No 9, who grabbed the initiative, breezing through the last-32.
A runner up at the event on several occasions, including in 2019 and 2021, Ryan Choi said his focus now was on finishing in the medal positions in Japan, bettering his previous performance in Germany last month.
Then, the Hongkonger lost 15-14 to Mohamed Hamza, of Egypt, in 14-15 in the last-16 of the World Cup leg.
