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Gay Games triumph is kept in the shadows

Hong Kong has fielded a team for the first time at the international Gay Games, 11 years after homosexuality was decriminalised.

The 22 members proudly marched under a Hong Kong banner in front of tens of thousands of people in Sydney, Australia at the opening ceremony - but came home last month as a team which dared not speak its name.

They have shunned previous publicity opportunities for fear some members whose sexual orientation remains hidden from family, workmates or acquaintances, would be outed.

However, team organiser and silver medal-winning bodybuilder Eddie, 36, who did not want his surname published, was pleased to have represented Hong Kong.

'It was the biggest rush, when you walk in the stadium and your team name is being called out for the first time in history. 'Team Hong Kong.' It just rings in your ears, spine chilling,' he said.

'The games are a stage [on which] we can be ourselves with no discrimination. That's one of the main things. We are accepted as what we are and show our prowess, show our ability, talent and skill.'

The Hong Kong team - which included three non-Chinese expatriates - returned with a volleyball gold medal and two silver medals in bodybuilding and triathlon.

This year's Gay Games from October 25 to November 9 were attended by more than 11,500 athletes from more than 80 countries, competing in 31 sports. The Gay Games began in 1982 and are held every four years.

'It was an Olympics for us . . . Some people don't realise how big an event it really is,' Eddie said.

Another team member, volleyball player Kevin, said that when he was growing up, children who were quiet or poor at sport were branded gay. He decided to participate in the games partly because of his passion for sport, but also to prove a point.

'The stereotype is that gay men are more feminine and better at stuff like art and design, and sport is for straight people,' he said.

Kevin, a businessman, said community acceptance of homosexuality was growing, with Chinese television shows, for example, including gay characters.

He had not experienced discrimination in the past few years in Hong Kong since returning from living overseas, and is 'out' to his parents, but did not want his surname published for fear it would affect his business.

The Hong Kong team formed through unofficial networks and was largely self-funded.

The Gay Games is aimed at encouraging participation and allowed novices to compete alongside professionals, Eddie said, adding not all entrants were gay.

He trained for two years before the games, exercising up to six times a week and following a low-carbohydrate diet. 'I actually transformed my body,' he said.

Wearing his silver medal around Sydney, where awareness of the games was high, Eddie was moved by people's reaction.

'That was something I have never felt before . . . It was so accepting,' he said.

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