Close call: Hong Kong swimmer Tang Wai-lok falls just short of a Paralympic Games medal
He missed out by just 0.46 seconds, while there were table tennis losses for Wong Ka-man and Wong Pui-yi, but track sprinter Yam Kwok-fan qualified for the women’s 100 metres (T36) final
Swimmer Tang Wai-lok missed out on a medal by 0.46 seconds as Hong Kong kicked off their campaign at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro .
Making his second Paralympic appearance after his London debut four years ago, Tang finished the men’s 100 metre backstrokes final (S14) in one minute and 3.88 seconds, with Japan’s Takuya Tsugawa claiming the bronze medal.
Watch: men’s 100 metre backstrokes final (S14)
But the result for Tang, who will also take part in the 200m individual medley and the 200m freestyle, was better than his eighth placed finish in London four years ago.
Elsewhere, defending table tennis champion Wong Ka-man suffered surprise 3-2 defeat by Natalia Kosmina of Ukraine in her women’s singles (TT11) group stage opener.
Wong Pui-yi also lost 3-0 to world number one Zhang Bian of China in the women’s singles TT5 and the pair will now have to compete for the second place in their respective groups in order to qualify for the knockout stage.
Watch: Wong Pui-yi v Zhang Bian
But there was good news on the track as sprinter Yam Kwok-fan, who was making her Games debut, qualified for the final of the women’s 100 metres (T36) in personal best 16.15 seconds.
Watch: women’s 100 metres (T36) heat
