Good morning

Lots of Olympics news today and I’m sure today’s headliner has dominated your social media feeds as much as it has mine.

~ Kyna

HK's first gold medal at the Olympics since 1996

Edgar Cheung Ka-long wins Hong Kong its second Olympic gold ever—and its first medal for fencing—beating Italy’s Daniele Garozzo 15-11. He shared that he had been through a series of ups and downs throughout his career, regaining his confidence after coach Greg Koenig advised him not to give up so easily.

“I thought to myself – everyone was either was an Olympic champion or a world champion, and I was nobody. That helped me relax a bit.”

— Edgar Cheung Ka-long, now a gold medalist

Hong Kong Free Press HKFP @hkfp

The 24-year-old bagged the city's first Olympic gold medal since 1996 on Monday, after a beating 2016 Rio Olympics gold medallist Daniele Garozzo of Italy by 15-11. hongkongfp.com/2021/07/26/bre… Photo: Fabrice Coffrini & Mohd Rasfan / AFP

12:39 PM ∙ Jul 26, 2021

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Cheung also thanked his family for their support and consideration when he had lost motivation and plans to gift the medal to his father. HK now ranks 16th on the Tokyo Olympics medal board.

“It proves that we are not only able to get medals in Asia only,” he said about representing the city. “We can also do what we want to in the world.”

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COVID news

Hong Kong SAR Government News @newsgovhk

The Centre for Health Protection announces that no new #COVID19 cases have been recorded as of midnight on July 26, leaving the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong at 11,978

news.gov.hkNo new COVID-19 cases recordedThe Centre for Health Protection announces that no new COVID-19 cases have been recorded as of midnight on July 26, leaving the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong at 11,978.

7:59 AM ∙ Jul 26, 2021

Coronavirus in Hong Kong

• New cases: 0

• Total cases: 11,979 cases so far (66 active cases, 212 total deaths, 11,701 total recovered)

In other news…

• National security education has been made mandatory at three publicly funded HK universities. Undergraduates, including overseas students, at Baptist, Lingnan and Polytechnic Universities (paywalled) must take related seminars or courses as requirements to graduate.

• The central government says the US should stop “demonising” and “blaming” China for its own structural problems. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman is currently visiting Tianjin to improve diplomatic ties between the two leading economies following clashes on cybersecurity and human rights abuses in HK and Xinjiang.

What you’re missing from today’s Paid Tide:

Chinese embassy complains about Western medias using “ugly” photos of Chinese athletes (and it backfires), a pro-democracy activist is charged by the anti-corruption watchdog, and more.

Remember to wish Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet luck as they lead HK into the quarter-finals for badminton mixed doubles!

… And equally as important, don’t forget that we always appreciate shares or donations on HT’s PayPal and Patreon.

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