Hong Kong Alpine skier Adrian Yung Hau-tsuen wanted to “turn back time” after failing to complete his men’s slalom run on Wednesday morning. The 17-year-old could not complete his run at what looked a more forgiving Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre, with all involved happy to see the back of last Sunday’s heavy snowfall. Yung, who caps Hong Kong’s biggest Winter Olympics athlete delegation campaign, missed one of the early gates while attempting to switch gears. He appeared to save it but ultimately trailed off the course, shaking his head. “It’s a little bit devastating. I really want to finish the course and celebrate,” Yung told TVB after his race. Some 36 of the 88 entrants did not finish. “My skiing really wasn’t smooth, and my timing was late in many cases. I had to recover a lot and couldn’t continue in the end. “The feeling [after Sunday’s run] was that I needed to fight harder, but after trying to fight I had no power to continue, and failed today.” Yung was targeting a “top 50” place in both events leading into the Games. The former junior British champion’s giant slalom attempt was cut short after he lost a ski in the opening turns amid awful conditions . Having vowed to “control my nerves” after his Olympics debut, he has set his sights on new targets for the remainder of the season. “I wish I could turn back time and try it again, but this is the competition lifestyle,” Yung said. “I had two chances but failed them both. I’m a bit devastated. The course was very hard today, it had a lot of turns, it was very wide but also tight.” With the Asian Alpine Ski Championships in Lebanon starting on February 23, Yung will be straight back into the gym before he and the team fly out. “My new goal is to finish [races], because this season I DNFd quite a lot, so my confidence has gone down,” Yung said. “I need to finish more competitions and build up my confidence. I learned a lot of brutal lessons this time, so next time I hope get a bit mentally stronger.” Yung’s family, including sister Catherine and mother Fiona, were in the TVB studio in Hong Kong to share their thoughts. And although both were also disappointed, they outlined the “long game” ahead given his young age and relentless determination in the sport. “Don’t be too sad, don’t over think too much and don’t beat yourself up about it. This was an amazing experience for you and you should look forward to the Asian champs, where I know you can do what you’ve practised,” Catherine said. Who is Hong Kong’s Winter Olympics skier Adrian Yung? Yung’s aunt added: “Remember you’re only 17, still a minor, so don’t be so hard on yourself. And enjoy yourself. I will take you for a dim sum buffet of your choice when you’re back!” Fellow Hong Kong-based relatives recalled how “AD” and his siblings had an inspirational pep talk pre-race, praising his maturity and desire to improve. “Thanks to my family for supporting me. It’s really been a long season, but I will try my best at the Asian Championships and bring back a better result,” Yung said. Yung, coach Marko Rudic, and fellow skier Audrey King, have been through a roller coaster in Beijing, with the trio forced to quarantine in a designated hotel two weeks ago after King, 19, test positive for Covid-19 on arrival. Strolzing to an early lead Johannes Strolz of Austria led the field after the first run despite nearly losing balance midway. The 28-year-old Beijing Alpine combined gold medallist clocked a 53.92, just two milliseconds in front of Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen – the youngest male Alpine ski medallist in history. Teammate Sebastian Foss-Solevaag, who was considered a favourite based on FIS World Cup rankings this season, finished third only 0.04 seconds behind Krisoffersen. The trio will be confident of securing podium finishes going into the afternoon run. Meanwhile, Jung Dong-hyun (South Korea) finished with 56.85 and Nicola Zanon (Thailand) 1.05.71, while Yohei Koyama (Japan), Asa Miller (the Philippines), Ho Ping-jui (Chinese Taipei), Jeffrey Webb (Malaysia), Arif Mohd Khan (India), Xu Mingfu and Zhang Yangming (China) and Muhammad Karim (Pakistan) all failed to finish.