While Hong Kong’s elite athletes are still giving their best at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, their distinguished performances so far have already captured the hearts of local residents, exemplifying a good Hong Kong story.
The Hong Kong soccer team sent the entire city into ecstasy when it won 1-0, eliminating Iran — one of the strongest teams in Asia — in the quarterfinals. Unfortunately, it failed to go further after losing 0-4 to Japan in a brave fight in the semifinals. It was nevertheless the best-ever result for the Hong Kong soccer team in the Asian Games.
Local fans are still expecting to see another fantastic bronze medal match when the team takes on Uzbekistan on Saturday. The Uzbeks defeated Hong Kong twice in the group matches earlier. However, we can be sure that the Hong Kong team will give their best again whatever the result.
In fact, the city delegation has so far collected 52 medals, including seven gold, 16 silver and 29 bronze, breaking the record of 46 medals won at the last Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2018. A few more medals may yet be bagged in the remaining days of the games, which come to an end on Sunday.
We take great pride in our elite athletes not only because of their ability to break medal records in recent years, but also because of their strong perseverance, fighting spirit and never-give-up mentality showcased in the competitions. Such virtues epitomize the “Hong Kong spirit” that has enabled the city to overcome numerous hurdles over the years.
The excellent performances of Hong Kong’s athletes in international competitions in recent years have proved that the SAR government’s policies and funding aimed at raising the city’s sporting standards have been successful
Setting off for the games with a strong determination to bring honor to themselves and the city, the athletes immediately brought great excitement and joy on the first day of the quadrennial event, bagging two gold and five bronze medals. Hong Kong’s first gold was won by rowing athletes Lam San-tung and Wong Wai-chun, who competed in the men’s 2,000-meter pairs final. The duo started to catch up quickly halfway through the event and crossed the finish line in 6 minutes and 44 seconds, beating Uzbekistan by 3 seconds. Their win was precious because it also marked the second Asian Games gold medal for the rowing team since 2014.
A similar victory after struggling from behind was earned by the local men’s rugby sevens team. The team made a strong comeback to beat Japan 12-7 in a semifinal sudden-death extra-time thriller. The players then went on to beat South Korea 14-7 in the final, successfully retaining the title they had won in Jakarta.
The Hong Kong women’s epee fencers nearly made history again when they encountered their world No 1 opponents, South Korea, in a nerve-racking final. The local women battled on until the final few seconds, narrowing their opponents’ lead. However, in the end, they lost 34-36, taking the silver — which was, nevertheless, the team’s best-ever result.
Their tough training, unyielding attitude and synergetic team spirit have enabled them to achieve remarkable results in team events. Apart from the silver medal won by the women’s epee team, the women’s foil team bagged a bronze, as did both the men’s foil team and men’s epee team. The women’s swimming team won a bronze medal in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay and a bronze in the 4x100-meter medley relay. Other teams that won silver and bronze medals in team competitions included rowing, cycling, squash, e-sports, women’s rugby, equestrian, chess and triathlon.
Besides excellent teamwork, our athletes have also played marvelously in individual events, with some breaking the city’s records or making Hong Kong history. For instance, “Flying Fish” Siobhan Haughey won a total of six medals — two gold, one silver and three bronze medals. The Olympic double silver medalist made history for Hong Kong swimming sports when she won the city’s first gold medal ever at the Asian Games in the women’s 200-meter freestyle. The gold medal she won in that event set a new Asian record time of 1 minute 54.12 seconds, while her 100-meter freestyle gold, achieved with a time of 52.17 seconds, broke her own Asian record. Her 50-meter freestyle silver time — 24.34 seconds — also set a new record for the city. Her bronze medal in the 50-meter breaststroke final set a new Hong Kong record of 30.36 seconds. Meanwhile, Ian Ho Yentou made history for the Hong Kong men’s swimming team after winning silver in the 50-meter freestyle final.
Then there was the performance of Olympic golden boy, Edgar Cheung Ka-long. The left-handed foil fencer made Hong Kong history by snatching his first gold on the first day of the games. It was also the first gold medal for Hong Kong’s fencing team in Asian Games. And he helped the foil team to win a bronze medal.
Experienced cyclist Yang Qianyu clinched a gold medal in the women’s road race, the city’s first-ever gold medal in the event. Golfing star Taichi Kho bagged a gold medal in the men’s individual event and helped the team to snatch a bronze. These two medals were the city’s first-ever Asian Games medals in golf. Tiffany Yue Nga-yan won a bronze medal and broke her own city’s long-jump record of 6.49 meters, with a leap of 6.5 meters. This was also the first athletics medal won by the Hong Kong team at the current Asian Games. Local table tennis ace Wong Chun-ting lost to Wang Chuqin of China in the semifinals, but as there was no bronze medal match, Wong was able to secure a medal. This was Hong Kong’s only table tennis medal at this year’s Asian Games.
The excellent performances of Hong Kong’s athletes in international competitions in recent years have proved that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government’s policies and funding aimed at raising the city’s sporting standards have been successful. It has also reinforced Hong Kong’s status as an international megasports events capital and a home team to elite athletes. The public expects more international sports events to be staged in Hong Kong to boost the economy.
In addition, the SAR government should further develop the sports industry as well as give more support to elite athletes’ dual career development in sports and academic pursuits. Such provisions can offer more job opportunities for retired athletes, encouraging parents to allow their children to pursue sports dreams at an early stage without worrying about their children’s academic prospects.
The local elite athletes have become our heroes. The whole community should ride on the solidarity and perseverance epitomized by our sports heroes to rebuild the city together in the midst of great changes in international affairs, so that Hong Kong can fly high again in the near future.
The author, a Hong Kong-based freelance writer, is an adviser to the Hong Kong Association of Media Veterans.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
