appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

Hong Kong sports ebbed and flowed in 2000. Unfortunately, there were more lows than highs for the SAR.

An era  ended when 1996 Atlanta Olympics gold medal heroine Lee Lai-shan  revealed she would retire from windsurfing after this year's All China Games in Guangzhou.

San San's bid in Sydney to repeat her 1996 feat endedin failure after she finished a disappointing sixth in the women's mistral class. Hong Kong's only chance of winning a medal at the Millennium Olympics was blown away.

The girl from Cheung Chau who captured Hong Kong hearts  on winning the  SAR's first Olympic medal in Atlanta - and a gold medal at that - had to concede defeat to Amelie Lux, a snip of a German opponent, many years younger.  The hands of time  had caught up with San San who turned 30 just before the start of the Sydney Games.

But age was not solely to blame. Hong Kong's biggest threat to sportsmen and sportswomen, the struggle to secure a future and a career, claimed San San too.

Having to complete a degree in sports management in Australia, San San lost precious time in her build-up to the Sydney Olympics and this probably left her a bit underdone as the windsurfing events began in Rushcutters Bay on September 16, one day after the opening ceremony.

If San San's performance  caused dismay among Hong Kong hopefuls, more bad news followed two months later when the SAR lost an ambitious bid to host the 2006 Asian Games.

The Olympic Council of Asia met in Pusan, South Korea in November to decide which of the four candidates - Hong Kong, Kuala  Lumpur, New Delhi or Doha, the capital of Qatar - would host the quadrennial Games, which next to the Olympics, is the biggest multi-sports event in the world. Hong Kong, a late entry into the race, was expected to push Kuala Lumpur all the way. But both cities were caught off guard by a strong showing from Doha which won hands down with the majority of the 43 OCA members opting for the oil-rich city.

The SAR's rallying cry,  'Hong Kong For Sure', must have stuck in the throats of Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan Fang On-sang,  who led the bidding team,  and officials of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee as they flew  home with shattered pride.

Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, SFOC president, had hoped  a successful bid would be the rallying point in his attempt to create a sports culture in the SAR. Highly  impressed by the Sydney Games, Mr Fok said his dream was to see  Hong Kong  become a sports-mad city.

Soon after the Sydney Games ended, Mr Fok told the South China Morning  Post:  'Unfortunately, we are not like Australia where people live and breathe sports, as we have observed in this past fortnight. We need to instil this same culture in Hong Kong. It will be a tough thing to do, but we have got to start somewhere, and I think we should do it now, regardless of whether we win the right to host the 2006 Asian Games or not.'

Perhaps he knew deep  down that Hong Kong stood little chance of hosting the 2006 Asian Games.

While windsurfer San San was Hong Kong's only realistic  hope for a medal in Sydney, there were other commendable performances from Hong Kong athletes at the Olympics, al though none won a medal.

Swimmers Mark Kwok Kin-ming and Alex Fong Lik-sun each established two new Hong Kong records in the pool. Cyclist Wong Kam-po also fared creditably, finishing 11th in a 23-strong field in the men's track points race. Barring these results, Hong Kong's overall display was limited to fleeting one-off appearances, from athletics to shooting.

'I know our athletes gave it their best shot. But their best was not good enough,' said Mr Fok.

'We won no medals in Sydney, and I must apologise for that as this was our first Olympic Games after the handover. But I hope this defeat could be the birth of  a new culture in Hong Kong - a sports culture,' he said.  That is the resolution as Hong Kong sports begin a new year.

Somehow, the disappointments were offset by  the superb efforts of the SAR's paralympic team. The 28-strong squad took the Sydney Games by storm and finished it as the most successful SAR sports squad to compete at a multi- sports international event, winning eight gold,  three silver and seven bronze.

'This is more than what we ever expected,' said Silas Chiang Tak-cheung, Hong Kong's chef de mission. 'I'm really happy for the athletes, who  put in a lot of hard work and dedication. They deserve it.'

Hong Kong took part in six sports, the first time the SAR was represented in  events for the mentally handicapped.   The team finished 21st in the overall medals tally, the best finish for Hong Kong in Paralympics history.

The gold rush started with paraplegic wheelchair fencer Fung Ying-ki.  At 13, Fung was struck down by a virus that  left him with less  than 50 per cent use of his legs. Seven years on, he led Hong Kong's glory charge, winning individual golds in the foil and sabre events and a team gold in the foil.

'I'm satisfied with my achievements,' said Fung. 'I had hoped to win four golds, but it was unfortunate we narrowly lost in the team sabre final. It was a most memorable moment at the prize presentations. I was delighted when the SAR flag was raised and the national anthem played.'

Fung attributed his success partly to the strong team spirit among the Hong Kong  athletes.

'We were supportive of each other. We applauded our teammates  as they played. I think our rivals feared us. I experienced what real big Games are. The atmosphere was great, and a lot of the Chinese in Australia cheered for us.

'I'll concentrate on studying the following year. I have to repeat Form Five,' said the Sha Tin College schoolboy. 'At the moment, I'm enjoying the glory. I want to take my mind off fencing.'

Fung's sterling effort was matched on the track by sprinter So Wa-wai, who not only won three gold medals but did it in style, establishing three world records in the 100 metres, 200 m and 400 m.

'I didn't expect to break any record, so I'm more than happy with my three golds. My most memorable win was in the 400 m final. I threw up after I won it, and  had to be taken in a wheelchair to  the prize presentation. I was so tired  I couldn't even  move my body. But half an hour later, I had to compete in the 4 x 100 m relay. It was tough,' said So.

The icing on the cake was added by the squad's 'baby', Lai Wai-ling. The 14-year-old schoolgirl became the first mentally handicapped athlete from Hong Kong to win gold. She clinched the table tennis medal to underline her world number one status.

Hong Kong was the fifth- ranked nation in Asia, finishing behind China, South  Korea, Japan and Iran -  a commendable performance by athletes who fight  great odds every day of their lives.

'Our mission was accomplished,' said Chiang. 'Now the real work starts - to find and groom the future stars. We need  young blood to keep up with the young brigade.'

The  other noteworthy Hong Kong performance on  the international field came in cricket, where the SAR finished runners-up at the Asian Cricket Council Trophy in Sharjah to qualify for this year's Asia Cup in Pakistan.

When the overall score is tallied, however, 2000 emerges as a year with  more lows than highs in Hong Kong sports.



Windsurfer San San loses out at Olympics while HK team strike gold at Paralympics