World champion fencer Ryan Choi's coaches saved his season – and now they're tickled ‘pink'

South China Morning Post

2 days ago

Hong Kong's first fencing world champion almost did not come to be – had Ryan Choi Chun-yin stuck with his idea of skipping the rest of the season after some poor results up to early May.
On Wednesday, Choi went all the way in Tbilisi, Georgia, dominating Kirill Borodachev of Russia, who was taking part as a neutral fencer, before sealing a comfortable 15-9 win to become Hong Kong's first-ever fencing world champion.
Choi's recent form resurgence began at the Shanghai Grand Prix in mid-May, after coach Maurizio Zomparelli talked the Hongkonger out of the idea of forgoing the rest of his season.
Winning his
maiden senior international title in Songjiang was only the start. The
Asian Championships title followed a month later in Bali – 13 years after Choi had won at the 2012 Asian Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships in the same city.
Born on October 9, 1997, a little more than three months after the handover of Hong Kong back to China's sovereignty, Choi began fencing – on his mother's suggestion – when he was a nine-year-old pupil at La Salle Primary School.
Ryan Choi (right) beat Kirill Borodachev in the épée final at the World Championships on Wednesday. Photo: EPA
Choi recalled resisting the sport very much in the beginning, thinking it was 'violent and dangerous' and felt like it was merely 'fighting with weapons'.