Hong Kong's entrants fell by the wayside as the first day of action at the World Taekwondo Championships got off to a flying start at Hong Kong Coliseum yesterday.
Lee Chi-man, who was competing in the women's lightweight category, managed to clear one round when she beat a Jordanian athlete, but she was beaten in the second round by the eventual silver medallist from Taiwan, Hung Chia-chu.
That was the closest the host side got to a medal as even the lure of $1 million reward for a gold medal was not enough to effect prize-winning performances from the Hong Kong team.
Hong Kong's Wong Chi-lam was beaten in the first round by Argentina's F. Sabastien in the men's lightweight division, indicating that the local team still had a way to go to match their opposition.
Egypt's Abdul Tamer Moneim defeated Christophe Negrel of France 3-1 to win the championship's first gold medal in the same event.
South Korea's Hae Eun-kang beat Hung 3-1 in the women's lightweight final.
