Few Hongkongers have ever rocketed to household name status as quickly as Edgar Cheung Ka-long after his historic gold medal in fencing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. The 24-year-old athlete was responsible for scenes of hysteria in Hong Kong malls, as crowds gathered under large screens to watch his nail-biting victory. After trailing 1–4 at the start of the final match, he fought back against Italian Daniele Garozzo to win with a score of 15–11. This year, the top fencer won bronze in the men's individual foil at the Fencing World Championships in Cairo, Egypt.

The bronze was also Hong Kong's first medal in the men's event, following Cheung's semi-final loss to Tommaso Marini of Italy.

Characteristically humble, Cheung described the Olympics as “one of the many tournaments”, and took care to emphasise that he is still the same person, despite bringing home Hong Kong’s second gold since Lee Lai-shan was crowned Olympic champion for windsurfing in 1996. “Perhaps the only difference is more people recognise me when I walk on the streets and they ask to take photos with me. Other than that, everything remains the same,’ he says. For Cheung, it’s simply onwards to Paris 2024.