HK men's foil team takes Asian Games silver

Hong Kong, China men’s foil team came up just short of gold at the Asian Games on Friday, falling 36-45 to host Japan, in a tense final at the Aichi Sky Expo. The silver medal matches Hong Kong’s best-ever result in the Asian Games men’s foil team event previously achieved at Jakarta-Palembang in 2018. Japan, roared on by a home crowd, fielded a powerful lineup led by individual foil champion Kazuki Iimura and bronze medallist Kyosuke Matsuyama. The hosts seized the lead early and never let it go. Hong Kong’s youngest team member Harris Ho opened the final and trailed 1-5 early. Two-time Olympic gold medallist Edgar Cheung and former world number one Ryan Choi then took the piste, but Hong Kong could not reel Japan in and trailed 11-20 after four bouts. Hong Kong fought back in the middle section. Seventeen-year-old Ho produced a standout performance to cut the deficit to 20-25, and Cheung surged again in the seventh bout to keep Hong Kong within range at 32-35. Japan, however, held firm. With Hong Kong trailing 34-40 going into the final bout, Ho anchored the last leg but could not close the gap. Japan finished the job at 45-36 to claim gold on home...