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On July 26, Hong Kong erupted in celebration after fencer Edgar Cheung Ka-long won the city its first Olympic gold in 25 years.
Cheung clinched victory at the men’s individual foil gold medal event in fencing, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
TVB reporter slammed for being unprofessional
While news of the historic win made headlines, a TVB reporter also raised the ire of netizens for her "unprofessional" remarks in a post-match interview.
TVB reporter, Kelly Chan Yeuk-lam, 25, was among a group of Hong Kong reporters speaking to Cheung after his match, according to Hong Kong newspaper The Standard.
Netizens criticised Chan for getting carried away by her excitement, and making Cheung uncomfortable with her questions, such as:
“You are the pride of Hong Kong! What do you want to say to Hong Kongers with all of them watching the live broadcast? I like you so much! What should I do?”
“I want to start calling you ‘Kam Ka Long’. ('Kam' is 'gold' in Cantonese, and is a pun on his first name)”
“I am so proud of you, people told me to give you a flying kiss after you have won, but I cannot do so due to social distancing, hahahahaha!”
Others slammed Chan for interrupting Cheung multiple times during the interview, saying it was disrespectful.
You can find the full video here:
Handwritten note in apology
The Standard reported that while Chan initially defended her interview style in an Instagram post, she later deleted it after overwhelming backlash.
On July 27, Chan instead issued a handwritten apology via her social media accounts regarding the incident.
She wrote that after Cheung's historic gold medal during the Tokyo Olympics, she had been in the same mood as many in Hong Kong, adding that she had asked inappropriate questions because she was so "excited" and "agitated".
She wrote: "I deeply regret my immature and unprofessional behaviour. I would thus like to express my deepest apologies to all affected parties, viewers, Cheung Ka-long, and TVB.”
"I hope that everyone can give me another chance, and forgive my mistake this time. Thanks for everyone’s valuable opinion and guidance. I will remember it and work hard to become a professional host and I will not let you down again.”
She also urged everyone to continue supporting the Hong Kong athletes in their Olympic campaign.
The comments on the post are disabled, but Cheung has 'liked' it.
Here's the note in full:
Via @yeuklam Instagram
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Top images via BKM Studio YouTube and Edgar Cheung Ka-long Facebook