Meet the professional athletes who are climbing up the ranks of the sporting world
In 2021, the Tokyo Summer Olympics finally took place after being delayed an entire year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was one of the year's biggest sporting events where athletes showed their incredible abilities. And many did, particularly Southeast Asian athletes like Hidilyn Diaz, Greysia Polii and Panipak Wongpattanakit—all of who made history by winning their respective home country's first Olympic gold in their sport.
In addition to the three of them, here are the other 2022 Gen.T honourees who have risen to the top of their game, set records and pushed boundaries in their respective sports in the last 18 months.
Edgar Cheung Ka-long
Sport: Fencing
Team: Hong Kong
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.
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.
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