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James Porteous

“My heart is more painful than my wounds,” said a mentally and physically battered Sarah Lee Wai-sze.
Hong Kong’s star cyclist admitted she needed time out to decide whether to launch another Olympic assault on Tokyo 2020.
WATCH: relive the action involving Hong Kong athletes on Day 11 at the Rio Olympics

The scrapes and bruises from the crash that killed her best medal hope at the Rio Olympics will soon fade, but the mental scars will last longer.
While Lee’s keirin bronze-medal success at London 2012 might have been a little unexpected, she and her team felt confident of bettering that result here.
The dream is over: Sarah Lee fails to progress to semi-finals of women’s sprint as German champion asserts authority
But a crash caused by Australian rider Anna Meares in the keirin semi-finals put paid to that; the pained and drained rider couldn’t compete at her best in the sprint on Tuesday and went out to the German multiple world champion Kristina Vogel in the quarter-finals. Vogel went on to win the gold medal.
Lee admitted she needed a rest before contemplating Tokyo, though her coach Shen Jinkang is confident she’ll be there – and can still medal at the age of 33.
“I feel a little disappointed about the keirin as I really thought I had a good chance of getting a medal, even a gold, as I think that I’m the smart one [tactically] and I was the fastest before the crash,” said Lee after shedding a few tears.
AS IT HAPPENED: Sarah Lee Wai-sze breaks down in tears as German rival ends her medal hopes at Rio Olympics
“I feel I could have got at least a silver medal.
“I still can’t consider Tokyo 2020 because I worked so hard for this race and I crashed and I have to take a rest and calm down maybe for a month.”




Coach Shen was confident Lee would be back in Japan.
“She’ll be 33 then but that’s no problem, physically she’s in great shape.
“I think she’ll compete in Tokyo – and I think she can win a medal there, too.”
Lee got some revenge over Meares by beating her in the earlier rounds of the sprint; they shook hands and hugged afterwards.
WATCH: Hong Kong's star cyclist Sarah Lee is set to shine at the Olympics again 

Committed Christian Lee turned the other cheek but forgetting the incident might be harder than forgiving it.
“I really think I would be very angry about what she did if she didn’t at least get the [keirin bronze] medal,” she said.
“We are friends and I appreciate her, she’s just like my idol. These few years we’ve always communicated and we’re both very similar – I don’t want to lose a friend over a race.”
Lee has been flying the flag solo for Hong Kong at Olympics and world championships for years and admits it’s getting wearing.
“I really want to set up a team sprint,” she said, “because fighting alone is very difficult.
“We haven’t got young riders [who are capable of making a team for the Olympics] yet.  Maybe one day when I become a coach!
“We need an opportunity. The Netherlands only developed their short distance track cycling in these years and they are doing really well. Let’s see if we can grab our chance.”
Shen echoed that, lamenting the lack of depth in his squad. He’s wistfully hoping to unearth a schoolgirl cycle star in Hong Kong.
Lee couldn’t sleep because of her wounds and said that was her main problem against Vogel in the sprint, which is about tactics and anticipation, almost more than raw speed.
“I couldn’t use my brain,” she said. “Vogel’s such a strong rider, if I was just a bit careless I was going to lose, and you saw that.”
'Just one of those things' – how the slightest of nudges ended Sarah Lee Wai-sze's Olympic medal hopes in her favourite event
WATCH: golden moments on Day 11 at the Rio Olympics

Now she’s looking forward to a “holiday” at home in Hong Kong, having been locked in training camps for months in preparation for the Games.
She thanked her fans, and hopes to ‘atone’ by winning a title at the world championships in Hong Kong in April.
“Every time when I almost die in training I think of [the fans],” she said. “Every time I really want to give up, they help me keep going, keep fighting.
“I keep telling myself that there is nothing certain, even though I had the ability to win a medal.
“I’ll just have to go on with my life.”
Additional reporting Kevin Kung


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Rio 2016 Olympic Games

‘My heart is more painful than my wounds’: Hong Kong’s Sarah Lee  tries to deal with Olympic nightmare

Sarah Lee Wai-sze says she has to “take a rest and calm down maybe for a month” after her Rio disappointment. Photo: AP

China's Zhong Tianshi (R) and Hong Kong's Lee Wai Sze compete during the Women's sprint track cycling event for 5th to 8th place at the Velodrome during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 16, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Greg BAKER

A bruise from an earlier fall shows on the knee of Lee Wai Sze of Hong Kong as she mounts the bicycle to compete in the women's sprint quarterfinals at the Rio Olympic Velodrome during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016. Lee Wai Sze fell during the women's keirin second round on Aug. 13. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

2016 Rio Olympics - Cycling Track - Quarterfinal - Women's Sprint Quarterfinals Race - Rio Olympic Velodrome - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 16/08/2016. Kristina Vogel (GER) of Germany and Lee Wai Sze (HKG) of Hong Kong compete. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

epa05489542 (L-R) Tianshi Zhong of China, Wai Sze Lee of Hong Kong, Simona Krupeckaite of Lithuania and Anastasiia Voinova of Russia in action during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Women's Sprint for 5th-8th Places at the Rio Olympic Velodrome in the Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 16 August 2016. EPA/JAVIER ETXEZARRETA

AS IT HAPPENED: Sarah Lee Wai-sze breaks down in tears as German rival ends her medal hopes at Rio Olympics

Sarah Lee sits in the media area after her race

Sarah Lee in action in the women's sprint

Sarah Lee flies the flag on her socks

Sarah Lee with coach Shen Jinkang (left) and team manager Johnny Chan

The dream is over: Sarah Lee fails to progress to semi-finals of women’s sprint as German champion asserts authority

Kristina Vogel of Germany leads Hong Kong’s Sarah Lee in the quarter-finals of the women’s sprint in Rio. Photo: Reuters

Germany's Kristina Vogel (R) races Hong Kong's Lee Wai Sze during the Women's sprint quarter-finals track cycling event at the Velodrome during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 16, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Greg BAKER

Lee Wai Sze of Hong Kong competes against Kirstina Vogel of Germany, not in picture, in the women's sprint quarterfinals at the Rio Olympic Velodrome during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

epa05489250 Kristina Vogel (L) of Germany and Wai Sze Lee of Hong Kong in action during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Women's Sprint Quarterfinals at the Rio Olympic Velodrome in the Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 16 August 2016. EPA/ALEJANDRO ERNESTO

Lee Wai Sze of Hong Kong gets ready to competes against Kirstina Vogel of Germany, not in picture, in the women's sprint quarterfinals at the Rio Olympic Velodrome during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Sport

Hong Kong

Lee says she needs a rest before contemplating Tokyo, though coach Shen Jinkang is confident she will be there in 2020 – and can medal at the age of 33


‘My heart is more painful than my wounds’: Hong Kong’s Sarah Lee tries to deal with Olympic nightmare

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Lee says she needs a rest before contemplating Tokyo, though coach Shen Jinkang is confident she will be there in 2020 – and can medal at the age of 33

WATCH: relive the action involving Hong Kong athletes on Day 11 at the Rio Olympics

Lee says she needs a rest before contemplating Tokyo, though coach Shen Jinkang is confident she will be there in 2020 – and can medal at the age of 33