For Hong Kong’s world No 7 fencer Vivian Kong Man-wai, the deadly Covid-19 pandemic strikes deeper into the emotions of a human soul than the Olympics ever could.
The epee specialist, considered one of Hong Kong’s genuine medal hopes for the now-postponed Tokyo Games, took a philosophical stance when confronted with the fact that she has to wait an extra year to fulfil her Olympic ambitions.
Rather than lament the heartbreak of possible broken dreams, the former world number one sees postponing the Olympics as an opportunity for reflection – a chance for the world to ponder life’s priorities.
“This pandemic is asking us to ask ourselves what matters most,” Kong said. “Postponing the Olympics gives us time to reflect, heal and learn.”
The 26-year-old, who integrates yoga into her training regime, is one of thousands of athletes around the world coming to terms with the International Olympic Committee’s unprecedented, but expected, decision on Tuesday to postpone the Tokyo Games.
More than 18,300 people have died globally from more than 400,000 Covid-19 infections as IOC officials and Tokyo organisers finally decided to postpone the July 24 to August 9 Games by one year.
Kong, who has seen her ranking drop from No 1 to seventh over the past year after suffering knee injuries, remained upbeat and is looking forward to joining the world in celebrating the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
“I’ll continue to train as hard as I can and hopefully we can all celebrate the Olympics and embrace the Olympic values again in 2021,” she said.
On Monday, Kong posted a video on social media of her training on a tennis court while maintaining social distancing, and offering praise for the health care workers on the front lines battling the coronavirus, which has claimed four deaths in Hong Kong from almost 390 infections.
“Enormous amount of love kisses hugs (from a social distance for now) to all the frontline heroes who put our lives ahead of their own. We’re all in this together. Stay strong!” wrote Kong.
The previous day, she posted a video of her performing yoga.
Kong’s world ranking dropped to seven after she failed to at least match her silver medal at the World Cup event in Tallinn, Estonia, with the gold medal going to Romania’s Ana Maria Popescu – the 35-year-old veteran who is Kong’s idol.
Kong has two World Cup gold medals under her belt – Cuba and Barcelona in early 2019 – and last year took bronze at the world championships in Budapest, Hungary. Her Cuba gold made her the first Hong Kong fencer to win a major World Cup series title.
The Olympics postponement also affects the men’s foil team of Cheung Siu-lun, Edgar Cheung Ka-long, Ryan Choi Chun-yin and Lawrence Ng Lok-wang.
For Cheung Siu-lun, the postponement is a potential devastating blow. At 35, he was poised to become the oldest Hong Kong athlete to make an Olympic debut after having earlier in March beaten South Korea in a tournament in Anaheim, California to punch the team’s Olympic ticket.
