Hong Kong's Chan Wai-man saved her best for last, producing a heroic performance in 20-knot winds and rough seas in the final race of the women's mistral event at the National Games yesterday to pip Athens Olympic silver medallist Yin Jian of Sichuan to fourth place overall.
Chan claimed fourth place in the race to finish on the same points as Yin Jian after 11 races, but forcing her more fancied rival into fifth place overall on a countback.
In the men's event, Cheng Kwok-fai, 21, finished seventh overall despite managing only 17th place yesterday.
Hong Kong team coach Rene Appel could not hide his delight with the performances of the two youngsters.
'This is a very encouraging result for both Chan and Cheng against such a strong fleet of windsurfers from all over China. They are both very young and have a lot of potential to develop further,' said Appel.
'The windsurfing event here has been of a very high standard. We will be seeing these competitors again as China will be hosting a number of major events over the next few years.'
Chan said she did not expect to do so well in Lianyungang because she had lost to many of her rivals by big margins during the practice races prior to the games. However, once she had won the opening race, her confidence grew.
