HK fencer Kaylin Hsieh wins city's first medal at Youth Olympic Games 2018 in Argentina
The epee expert is the second Hong Kong fencer ever to win a medal at the junior Olympics
Kaylin (right) narrowly lost to Ukraine's Kateryna Chorniy. Epee fencer Kaylin Hsieh Sin-yan, who was Hong Kong’s flag-bearer at the Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony, has won the city’s first medal in Buenos Aires.
The 17-year-old lost a close gold-medal match, 9-11, to Ukrainian fencer Kateryna Chorniy yesterday, but she still walked away with a hard-fought silver medal in the women’s individual epee event.
Kaylin first eliminated Algeria’s Yousra Zeboudj to reach the quarter-finals, then knocked out world No. 2, Emily Vermeule from the US, by just one point in a thrilling match to enter top four. She secured her spot in the final by defeating Axelle Wasiak from Belgium, with an overwhelming victory of 15-4.
Kaylin celebrated her achievement on her Instagram with a photo of the top three.
Kaylin had been regarded as Hong Kong’s top medal hope for the Games after being crowned the cadet world champion in April. She also won an individual bronze medal at the Asian Fencing Championships in June, and a team bronze medal at the Asian Games in Jakarta in August.
The Sha Tin College student is the second Hong Kong fencer to win an individual medal at the Games. Men’s foil fencer Ryan Choi Chun-yin brought home a silver medal from the Nanjing Youth Olympics in 2014.
Kaylin will fence again on October 10 in the mixed continental team event, where she will join forces with other Asian and Oceanian fencers according to their individual ranking.