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”