Kaylin Hsieh Sin-yan won Hong Kong’s first gold medal at the 2025 FISU Summer World University Games in Germany on Friday, defending her women’s épée individual title in a nerve-shredding 9-8 final victory over Ukraine’s Anna Maksymenko.
In doing so, she also became the first Hong Kong athlete to win the title in two consecutive world university games.
Over 9,200 participants from more than 150 countries and regions are competing in the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 Games, held in Germany’s Duisburg from July 16 to 27. Hong Kong has sent 75 athletes to compete in 10 sports.
The Asia Championships bronze medalist sealed the decisive point in extra time after three periods ended in an 8-8 tie. Hsieh’s triumph earns her a HK$500,000 ($63,702) award under the Jockey Club Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme.
She is set to fly to Georgia on Saturday to compete in the World Championships.
In an interview with Hong Kong media, Hsieh described the medal as a fitting conclusion to her journey with World University Games, given that this was her final appearance at the games.
She credited her gold medal victory to her coaches, family, friends, and everyone who had supported her.
READ MORE: FISU World University Games opens in Germany's Duisburg
Hong Kong athletes are participating in several key swimming events tonight: He Shing-ip competes in the semifinal of the men's 200 meter freestyle, while Cheung Cheuk-kit, competing in the men's 100m breaststroke final, is hoping to qualify for medals. Cindy Cheung Sum-yuet will also take part in the women's 200m backstroke final, keeping Hong Kong’s hopes alive for another place on the podium.
Meanwhile, synchronized divers He Yanwei and Lu Wei claimed the first gold for the China national team. The duo dominated the women's synchronized 10m platform event with 330.18 points. Their stellar performance, highlighted by 80.64 points in the fourth dive, gave them a comfortable lead over the German pair, while the US team took bronze. China finished the day third on the medals chart with one gold, two silver, and two bronze.
Huang Yawen contributed to the story.
