Eudice Chong blows chance to win Hong Kong’s first medal at the National Games
- The tennis player led 5-4 in the second set before losing to her opponent in three sets in women’s singles quarter-final
- Hong Kong men’s badminton team open their account with a 3-0 victory over Liaoning after two defeats in pool competition
Tennis player Eudice Chong blew a chance of winning Hong Kong’s first medal at the 14th National Games on Tuesday before losing her women’s singles quarter-finals in Xianyang, Shaanxi.
The Hong Kong number one was close to upsetting number five seed Wang Yafan, of Sichuan, when she had a chance to serve out the match while leading 5-4 in the second set. But the mainlander came back strongly, taking the next three games to level the overall score to 1-all after Chong won the first set 6-4.
With no play-off for the bronze medal, Chong had another chance to win the match by taking the third set, but she lacked the stamina to continue the challenge, losing 6-0 against a player who is ranked 345 places higher than her in the WTA rankings at 148.
Hong Kong last won a tennis medal at the National Games in 2001 in Guangzhou when Tong Man-chung and John Hui Chun-yip finished joint third in men’s doubles.
Chong was disappointed she couldn’t close the match out when she had the chance.
“I tried to play more open with the target of winning a medal but unfortunately my opponent has vast international exposure and has a much higher world ranking. It made the difference in the crucial points. But it was a good learning experience from the National Games playing against so many quality players. Hopefully I can win a medal for Hong Kong at the next Games”
Eudice Chong wins her first Hong Kong Championships singles title
With top player Zheng Zhuai opting out of the Games for the US Open, Wang Qiang, of Tianjin, headlines the list. She reached the semi-finals after beating Bai Zhuoxuan, of Henan, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4). Wang, the world number 50, will meet Zhu Lin for a place in the final.
In badminton, Hong Kong men’s team won their first match with a 3-0 victory over Liaoning in pool E. Lee Cheuk-yiu scored the first point in the best-of-five tie, beating Zhang Weiyi 17-21, 22-20, 21-16. This was followed by success in the doubles through Or Chin-chung and Yonny Chung and the third singles from Chan Yin-chak.
“Lee won the tough match to give us a strong start,” said head coach Tim He Yiming. “Both the doubles and the third singles showed improvement from our previous match against Guangdong when we lost 3-0.
Youngster Lee Cheuk-yiu battles adversity to win Hong Kong Open
“The top two teams from the pool will go through to the semi-finals and we face a difficult situation with our two remaining matches against Jiangxi and Hunan. It may be possible we will compete for 5th-8th place if we finish third in the pool but we will do our best.”
Hong Kong lost the first match 3-0 to Fukien, headed by Olympic double medallist Chen Long, while the coach was not happy with the defeat by Guangdong.
In boxing, Rex Tso Sing-yu has arrived in Xian after serving 21 days of quarantine in Shenzhen. The men’s 57kg boxer will feature in the round of 16 bout against Wang Xinyan, of the Coal Mining Sports Association, on Friday.
