Nicholas Choi

Nicholas Edward Choi (Chinese: 崔浩然; Jyutping: ceoi1 hou5 jin4) is a Hong Kong foil fencer.[1]

Nicholas Choi
Choi in 2015
Personal information
Full nameNicholas Edward Choi
Born (1993-01-20) 20 January 1993
Hong Kong
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Sport
SportFencing
Weaponfoil
Handright-handed
FIE rankingcurrent ranking
Medal record
Men's Foil
Representing  Hong Kong
Grand Prix
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Anaheim Individual
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2018 Jakarta Individual
Silver medal – second place 2018 Jakarta Team
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Incheon Team
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Hangzhou Team
Asian Championships
Silver medal – second place2018 BangkokTeam
Bronze medal – third place2011 SeoulTeam
Bronze medal – third place2012 WakayamaTeam
Bronze medal – third place2013 ShanghaiTeam
Bronze medal – third place2014 SuwonTeam
Bronze medal – third place2015 SingaporeTeam
Bronze medal – third place2016 WuxiTeam
Bronze medal – third place2017 Hong KongTeam
East Asian Games
Gold medal – first place2013 TianjinTeam
Bronze medal – third place2013 TianjinIndividual

Career

Choi took up fencing in 2002 while he was in primary school.[2] He thought that the sport was cool[3] because of the lights going off at each hit.[4] His younger sister, Natasha Erica, followed his example. When she was selected into the Hong Kong Sports Institute junior fencing team, his pride was piqued and he resolved to train harder until he was selected in his turn.[2]

In 2010 he was the second-placed Asian at the Cadet World Championships in Baku, qualifying for the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. He was defeated in the table of 16 by Denmark's Alexander Tsoronis and finished 9th. He was then drafted into the Hong Kong's senior fencing team and began to study at the Institute of Vocational Education, Chai Wan.[2] At the 2011 Asian Championships, he reached the quarter-finals after seeing off Olympic silver medallist Yuki Ota.

At the age of 19, Choi qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics as the second-ranked Asian, becoming the youngest fencer to represent Hong Kong at the Olympics.[5] Despite losing in the first round to Romania's Radu Dărăban,[6] he received a “Hong Kong Potential Sports Star Award” for his achievement.[7]

In 2018, Choi won two silver medals in the men's foil individual and team event at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, which is the best-ever result of Hong Kong fencers. He retired shortly after the competition but announced his return in April 2021, targeting for Paris Olympics.[8][9]

Personal life

Choi is a mixed-race child of Chinese, Korean and Filipino descent (father is Chinese-Korean mixed, mother is Filipino). His father is the leader of the Hong Kong fencing team; his elder sister serves as the head of English at a Direct Subsidy Scheme secondary school on Lantau Island;[10][11][12] and his younger twin sister Natasha Choi was also a fencing player.[13] Choi studied at Lam Tai Fai College and took the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE) in 2010. He was a candidate for the last cohort of the HKCEE. He is a friend of Jackson Wang, a former member of the Hong Kong Fencing Team and the Korean group Got7.

References
  1. London2012.com Archived 2012-07-30 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Kevin Kung (28 July 2010). "YOG of the week: Nicholas Edward Choi". Young Post–South China Morning Post.
  3. 愛上劍擊，衝出世界！. Sport Soho (in Chinese). 18 July 2010.
  4. "2012 Olympic Profile: Hong Kong's Fencing Team". China Real Time Report–Wall Street Journal. 25 June 2012.
  5. Kevin Kung (23 May 2012). "Fencer makes Olympic mark". Young Post–South China Morning Post.
  6. "Nicholas Edward Choi". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  7. "Past winners". Samsung Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards.
  8. "Fencing Results Book" (PDF). 2018 Asian Games. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 May 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  9. Etchells, Daniel (21 August 2018). "Indonesia President watches on as home favourite Irawan claims weightlifting gold at 2018 Asian Games". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  10. "港隊劍擊花美男！崔建邦新女細佬來頭勁". Oriental Daily News. 18 April 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  11. "崔建邦新女友系出名門 胞弟崔浩然為港隊劍擊花美男". Ming Pao. 19 April 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  12. "媾掂靚Miss 崔建邦新歡噴血照曝光". East Week. 28 April 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  13. "酷爆帥哥 劍鬥士". Apple Daily. 1 June 2010.
  • Profile at the Hong Kong Fencing Federation
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