Maestros in the making

Retired Hong Kong fencing star Antonio Lam Hin-chung hopes to pass the baton to aspiring athletes for them to carry the city's banner high in the world sports arena. He talks to Wu Menglei.

At the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, fencer Antonio Lam Hin-chung, a stalwart figure renowned for his multiple medal-winning feats, graced the field as the leader of the Hong Kong, China Fencing team. From a professional swordsman to a maestro in the fencing realm, he has witnessed the development of Hong Kong's sports industry in the past two decades and is now devoted to nurturing the city's future stars.

Before lifting the burden of being a fencing athlete in March 2020, Lam had competed in four consecutive Asian Games since 2006 in his 19-year fencing career, and won three medals. He also took part in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

When the 2006 Doha Asian Games drew to a close, he stood as the final men's saber fencing player of the Hong Kong, China team. "After all my senior colleagues had chosen to leave, I began training seriously and was eager to make the grade," he says.

"From another perspective, I consider myself fortunate to have been a fencing athlete as fencing has emerged as a sport in Hong Kong since 1949. My predecessors had laid a strong foundation by the time I entered the professional arena," says Lam, who decided to carry forth the legacy of the special administrative region's fencing team.

Determined to make a mark for himself in fencing, he believes perseverance is easier said than done. "But, having seen my fellow apprentices emerge one after another helped build up my belief that I had chosen the right path," he says.

The most important thing in his mind then was: "How could I further expand the popularity of the sport?" With never-ending ambition, he was resolved to pass on the baton to more people.

In Lam's opinion, in order to sustain the performance of the SAR's fencing team, the city needs more athletes who are devoted to the sport, and more competitions where they can put their skills to the test.

"Most people see fencing as an aristocratic sport due to the expensive equipment and high tuition fees involved," he explains. To attract more talented young people, he decided to break the financial barrier and trained his sights on students who are not financially well-off, or who come from ethnic minority families. "I want to treat all my students on an equal basis. I think the most important thing in learning fencing is passion," he says.