At 34, Sarah Lee still has plenty to offer, according to Hong Kong cycling chief Leung Hung-tak. Photo: AFP
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https://scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3144366/cycling-chief-wants-sarah-lee-lead-hong-kongs-charge-2022-asian Hong Kong
Cycling chief wants Sarah Lee to lead Hong Kong’s charge at 2022 Asian Games but Tokyo Olympics bronze winner yet to commit
- Leung Hung-tak says Sarah Lee, even at 34, has plenty to offer as a rider and role model and can set an example for Hong Kong’s younger riders
- The double Olympic medallist and other Hong Kong team members will take part in September’s China National Games in Shaanxi province
Sarah Lee proudly shows off her Olympic medal after finishing third in the women’s sprint at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Photo: Reuters
Cycling officials want Hong Kong medal winner Sarah Lee Wai-sze to lead the team at next year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou after the veteran proved at the Tokyo Olympics that she was still competitive at the highest level.
At 34, Lee collected her second Olympic medal on Sunday at the Izu Velodrome after finishing third in the women’s sprint, nine years after she won keirin bronze at the London Olympics.
“Her experience and international exposure is second to none,” said Cycling Association chairman Leung Hung-tak. “We understand she has worked for the Hong Kong team for many years but we still need her services at this stage, especially when some of our younger riders are yet to fully take up the baton.
“There is still a lot she can offer, especially at the Asian level and we will discuss it with her soon after the China National Games to sort things out because the Hangzhou Games is only 12 months away.”
After claiming the sprint bronze in Tokyo, Lee said she would compete at the forthcoming National Games, which will take place in Shaanxi province, but offered no clues about her long-term plans.
The cycling team will fly directly from Tokyo to Shanghai where they will be required to complete 14 days of quarantine because of the Covid-19 pandemic. They can then start preparations for the Games, to be held from September 15-27 in the provincial capital Xian.
Promising rider Yeung Cho-yiu (left) competes against Jessica Lee (right) and Sarah Lee (back) at the 2021 Nations Cup in Hong Kong. Photo: May Tse
Cycling was a major source of medals for Hong Kong at the 2017 National Games in Tianjin, with local riders capturing gold medals in the women’s madison and men’s omnium, as well as three silver and two bronze. Lee won bronze medals in the sprint and keirin.
Leung named up-and-coming Yeung Cho-yiu as a potential successor to Lee in the sprinting events while former Asian junior champion Lee Sze-wing could be a star of the future in endurance riding.
Yeung, 20, previously represented Hong Kong in handball but has decided to focus on a career in cycling. She took part in May’s Nations Cup where she finished a respectable fourth in the 500-metre time trial at the Tseung Kwan O velodrome.
Lee Sze-wing (in blue) races in the 2019 World Cup series in Hong Kong at Tseung Kwan O velodrome. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Lee Sze-wing, also 20, was already a member of the senior team at the 2019 World Cup series after the talented rider won the individual road race at the junior Asian Championships in Uzbekistan earlier that year. Her first senior tournament saw her snatch a bronze medal in the women’s omnium at the 2021 Asian Championships in South Korea.
“Both riders have rich potential to become our stars of the future and if Sarah can lead the duo at the 2022 Asian Games, it would definitely foster their development,” said Leung. “We are lucky to have a rider like Sarah’s calibre but we also need to have someone who is capable of taking up her role once Sarah decides to end her competitive career.”