Golden finish to track cycling events for Hong Kong at Asian Indoor Games as duo claim omnium titles

Leung Chun-wing and Diao Xiaojuan provided Hong Kong with a golden end to the track cycling events at the Asian Indoor Games on Saturday evening as the pair won the men’s and women’s omnium events respectively.

Following on the heels of Sarah Lee’s hat-trick of gold medals earlier in the week, Leung and Diao’s success takes Hong Kong’s medal haul at the velodrome to seven, with five golds, one silver and one bronze won over four days.

Leung took gold ahead of Kazakhstan’s Artyom Zakharov, who led the four-discpline event at the half-way point but whose hopes of victory were hit by a crash late in the points race with Turkmenistan’s Yhlas Owezmyadov.

“I am really sorry about what happened to him,” the 23-year-old said of Zakharov’s crash. “We have been racing against each other for years and we are good friends. Unfortunately, risk is present in every track race and, this time, Lady Luck was on my side.

“I knew I had to be patient and stick to my plan. Sometimes, as the race happens, you can get very emotional and maybe try to follow every attack by your rivals.

“That’s why it is important to keep a cool head and have a clear plan. I knew I could go a long way by sprinting and relying on the support of my team-mate (Leung Ka-yu).”

Leung felt his gold medal winning performance was a further sign of the improvements he has made recently.

“This is my second victory in a Games after the one I got last month at the China National Games,” he said. “This shows that I am stronger and stronger, but also that I am wiser and know more about the races. Hence, I am becoming a more complete rider.”

Diao, meanwhile, was dominant in the women’s race and went into the points race in first ahead of team-mate Li Yin-yin, only for Li to slip back into eighth position overall by the end of the final discipline.

“It hasn’t been easy at all, but at the same time I had the situation under control in every moment,” said Diao. “Yin-yin helped me to be better positioned on several moments of the event. I’m glad she could race with me.”

Elsewhere, Hong Kong’s female snooker players were left disappointed when Ng On-yee and Wan Ka-Kai had to share the bronze after both were eliminated in the semi-finals of the 6-Red Snooker Singles.

Ng, tipped as one of the favourites before the event, lost out to Thailand’s Warratthanun Sukritthanes 4-2 while Wan fell 4-1 to Nutcharut Wongharuthai, also from Thailand. Nutcharut went on to claim the gold medal.

After Saturday’s events, Hong Kong sit in eighth place in the medals table with eight golds, four silvers and nine bronze. Hosts Turkmenistan lead the standings, with Iran second and Uzbekistan third.