Athletes give new stadium thumbs up

China's number two men's hurdler Shi Dongpeng wondered why the brand new Tseung Kwan O Stadium was half-dressed - with stands for spectators only on one side of the track.

'This is a very nice venue, but I wonder why they didn't build more spectator stands,' Shi said after finishing second in the 110 metres hurdles final at the 2009 Asian Grand Prix series yesterday.

Organisers, who were using the event as a dry run for the East Asian Games, would undoubtedly agree with Shi if his compatriot, the great Liu Xiang, were to turn up in December. Liu is still recovering from the injury which saw him pull out from the Beijing Olympics final last year. But he is on target to compete at the China National Games in October and hopes are high that he could also make an appearance in Hong Kong.

If that were to happen, Kwan Kee, chairman of the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association agreed the 3,500-seater stadium might not be enough.

'We have the capacity to add temporary stands for another 1,500 people. But if Liu was to turn up, I don't think even that would be enough,' Kwan said.

'He is a huge draw and there will be much interest surrounding him. But other than him, I think this stadium is just perfect for the East Asian Games.' Athletes and visiting officials gave the thumbs up for the HK$400 million stadium - the only one in Hong Kong that comes along with a secondary warm-up track (even though it is only 300 metres and has just four lanes) - and praised the facilities.

'This is a marvellous venue which meets all the requirement of the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations),' said Maurice Nicholas, secretary-general of the Asian Athletics Association. 'We are very impressed with the facilities and I'm sure it will be just perfect for the East Asian Games.'

Kazakhstan's Sergey Zassimovich, winner of the men's high jump (2.28 metres) agreed with Shi that the stadium was top class. 'It is very good. This is my first time in Hong Kong and I didn't think Hong Kong had a stadium like this,' said the 23-year-old from Almaty.

Nearly 200 athletes from 20 countries took part in the final leg of the Asian Grand Prix Series. The previous two legs were held in China - in Suzhou and Kunshan last week - and Shi had dominated in the men's hurdles winning both easily.

But that was not the case yesterday. Second-best to Liu, Shi was usurped from this position by compatriot Xie Wenjun who pipped him with a time of 13.63 seconds. Shi finished in 13.69.

'I clipped the fifth hurdle and that mistake cost me,' said Shi who hoped he would be back in December for the East Asian Games.