The Kerry Fencing World Championships kicked off in Hong Kong on Wednesday, with Harris Ho Shing-him sweeping all before him in the pool matches and two other city fencers also making the main draw.
The nine-day tournament is being held in Hong Kong for the first time, spending its first three days with individual qualifying rounds at the AsiaWorld-Expo.
The opening day featured men’s foil and women’s épée – the two weapons favored by all three of Hong Kong’s top 16 fencers, who made it through the qualifiers to head straight into Saturday’s main event.
The trio includes defending champion and men’s world No. 2 Ryan Choi Chun-yin, two-time Olympic gold medalist Cheung Ka-long, currently ranked No. 15 after winning the team gold medal at last year’s National Games, and women’s world No. 13 Kaylin Hsieh Sin-yan.
The 17-year-old Ho, world No. 27, went 6-0 in his morning matches to finish sixth overall in the league standings, earning a direct spot in the main draw along with Choi and Cheung.
Making his debut at the World Championships, Ho expressed his joy at competing on home soil and praised the venue: “When I arrived and saw the venue, it looked better than any overseas World Cup venues.”
