"Before this, the Hong Kong team trained in Guangzhou. I'm very familiar with Mo Ziwei — we're about the same age. At this National Games, there are both unfamiliar and familiar faces. For example, Xu Jie — we often compete together and chat a lot. We're friends."

His own journey to this moment began long before the bright lights of the Kai Tak Arena.

Born in 1997 to two professional basketball players, Cheung grew up dreaming of netting championship-winning buzzer-beaters.

That changed when he was 10 years old and encountered fencing for the first time. Captivated, he hung up his basketball sneakers and reached for the foil, embarking on a path that would eventually reshape Hong Kong's sporting history.

His breakthrough came in 2016, when, at age 19, he stunned the region by defeating Team China's Olympic champion Lei Sheng and Japanese world champion Yuki Ota to win Hong Kong's first Asian Fencing Championships title.

The next milestone came at Tokyo 2020, he claimed Hong Kong's first Olympic gold since the city's return to China in 1997. Then, in Paris 2024, he successfully defended his Olympic crown.

But, a National Games gold had long eluded him. He made his debut in 2017, winning bronze in the team event, but an injury at the previous edition in 2021 forced him to withdraw before the competition.

This year presented a new opportunity — and the hometown setting elevated the stakes. On Nov 9, at the opening ceremony in Guangzhou, Cheung helped light the cauldron alongside Guangdong sprint icon Su Bingtian and Macao martial artist Li Yi, a symbolic moment that foreshadowed his central role in the Games.

With Hong Kong's first fencing gold now secured and the home crowd still echoing around him, Cheung's journey at this National Games ends on a note of fulfillment — a championship he chased for years, won not alone, but together as one.