Chan takes respectable fourth

Hong Kong narrowly missed out again on a medal at the10th National games as cyclist Chan Chun-hing finished in fourth place in the men's mountain bike cross-country yesterday.

The SAR team have yet to win a medal, but with windsurfing, badminton and now mountain biking already having knocked on the door, the first medal should not be too far away. The next hopeful is Stephen Wong, who starts in the men's BMX racing today.

Coach Shen Jinkang is full of confidence that a medal is not an unrealistic hope. 'He [Wong] has been doing well this year, having won twice in the event against riders from all over China. He has the skills and his physique fits the sport. I think he should be able to finish in the top three,' said Shen.

To enhance Wong's medal chances, the Hong Kong team has employed a short-term performance coach from Belgium. Wong has been training with the Belgium team for a number of years but only returned to Hong Kong early this year hoping to boost his chances of representing Hong Kong in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Regarding yesterday's race, Shen said Chan had completed his mission, although he never challenged the top three positions throughout the 31-kilometre race held in Zhang Jun Shan Park in the outskirts of Nanjing.

'The top three finishers are in a class of their own and it would be difficult for Chan to mount a serious challenge to them,' said Shen. 'His pet event is still the road race in which he should have a chance to become another Wong Kam-po, provided that he keeps up the hard work in his training.'