Hong Kong up and running at Asian Indoor Games with three medals as Lui Lai-yiu wins gold

Lui Lai-yiu gave Hong Kong a flying start with her gold medal in the women’s 60-metre hurdles at the Asian Indoor Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on Monday.

On a night when glamour girl Cecilia Yeung Man-wai celebrated her 23rd birthday with a bronze for Hong Kong in the women’s high jump, while Cheung Wang-fung finished third in the men’s 60-metre hurdles, it was Lui’s achievement that stole the limelight at the 5,000-seat Indoor Athletics Arena.

Already the fastest in the two heats with a personal best of 8.54 seconds in the afternoon, Lui went a step further when she crossed the finish line in 8.41 seconds in the evening’s final in the capital city.

“It’s possibly one of our best results at international level, thanks to the hard work of our athletes and coaches,” said Amateur Athletic Association senior vice-chairman Simon Yeung Sai-mo.

“Lui did very well at the China National Games in Tianjin as she became the first hurdler from Hong Kong to reach the final. Although she could not win a medal, she was never discouraged and made up for it in Ashgabat with a gold.”

Both Lui and Yeung took part in three major games in a row but failed to win any silverware in the previous two – the World University Games in August followed by the China National Games.

Yeung, who managed to clear 1.83 metres, tied with Safina Sadullaeva of Uzbekistan but had to settle for third after back misses were counted.

Reigning Asian champion Nadiya Dusanova, also from Uzbekistan, cleared 1.86m for the gold.

Yeung cleared both 1.84m in her two previous meets but could only capture a medal in Ashgabat.

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“This is my first medal at a multi-sport games and I treasured it,” said Yeung. “I managed to clear 1.83m in the third attempt which means I could overcome the pressure.

“My form has dropped a bit from the National Games indeed but I was still able to manage when I was not at my best. It proves I have matured.”