HK men's epee and women's foil squads fall short of final 4 despite thrilling duels staged

The fencing events at the National Games wrapped up with Hong Kong's epee and women's foil squads bowing out in the quarter-finals.

At Kai Tak, Hong Kong men's epee team opened strongly against Shandong.

But the momentum quickly shifted. Hong Kong trailed 12-15 after three bouts.

Cedric Ho, who clinched gold at the Asian Fencing Championships last year, returned to the piste -- delivering an 8-3 surge that swung the aggregate back to 20-18.

But Hong Kong's grip slipped over the following two bouts.

Shandong ultimately regained control to close out the match. Hong Kong lost at 44-45.

In the women's foil quarter-finals, Hong Kong faced Chongqing with a full lineup.

Kwan Yu-ching delivered one of the match's grittiest duels.

Suffering a painful jab to her left hand in the seventh bout, she required treatment before fighting back to take the bout 10-6, trimming Hong Kong's deficit from six points to just 2.

Still, the comeback fell short. Hong Kong was outscored in the final bout with Chongqing, sealing a 36-45 defeat.