Hong Kong win three golds in wushu
Martial artists will return with an impressive medal haul from East Asian Games; the men’s 4x100 metre track relay team head off China for a silver medal
Hong Kong’s wushu team will return from the East Asian Games with an impressive collection of medals after adding three gold, two silver and one bronze to the total in Tianjin yesterday.
Leading the charge at Normal University Arena was Geng Xiaolin, who was crowned the women’s daoshun and gunshu all-around champion, followed by the men’s duilian team. The third gold was captured in sanshou by Li Sone-wai in the men’s 60kg category.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong men’s 4x100 metre relay team won a silver medal in the final track and field event at the Games, beating off rivals China.
Winners Japan were in a class of their own, wrapping up the race in a new Games record of 38.44 seconds. Hong Kong clocked 39.12 with China recording 39.19.
Tsui Chi-ho, who headed off China’s Liang Jiaxiong in the final stages for the silver medal, said the result restored their confidence after they failed to finish in the National Games in Shenyang last month. “The finishing time was far from impressive but we badly needed it after the National Games defeat,” he said.
Geng, who withdrew from the changquan wushu event on Monday night due to illness, was delighted to make a quick recovery and defend her title.
“I wanted to preserve my energy for the all-around as this is my pet event,” she said. “But still it was a big test on my fitness as there was limited recovery time ahead of the second event.”