World Indoor Championships: Hong Kong hurdler Vera Lui just shy of personal best, hails ‘great experience’ in Belgrade
- The 27-year-old clocks 8.45 seconds in the 60m hurdles heats, 0.13 seconds off the unofficial Hong Kong record
- Coach says race had let Lui see difference between herself and ‘world-class opponents’
The 27-year-old finished eighth in her women’s 60m hurdles heats, and 40th overall, earning a season-best time of 8.45 seconds but failing to qualify to the finals in the Stark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia.
Lui was just milliseconds off her personal best of 8.41 seconds in the event, in which won gold at the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in 2017.
“It was my first time running at the World Championships, it was a great experience for me,” Lui said. I can feel the distance between myself and the fastest runner in the world...it was a great way to learn about my own shortcomings and what I need to improve on.
“The outdoor season is the most important goal of the year, and I am confident that I can do better in the coming months in the 100m hurdles especially after this experience.”
Tang Hon-sing, Lui’s coach, was satisfied after what was her first true test against high-level, world-class opposition.
“Her performance is acceptable as she did well at the start and in accelerating,” Tang said. “The whole field was full of world-class athletes. The goal was to break her personal best, which she missed by 0.04 seconds, but it’s acceptable.”
In the finals of women’s 60m hurdles, France’s 21-year-old Cyrena Samba-Mayela took gold with a national record of 7.78 seconds, while two Tokyo Olypmpics finalists, Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas, and Gabriele Cunningham of the United States, placed second and third in 7.81 and 7.87 seconds respectively.
The former world No 35 can also leave her first Indoor Championships extremely encouraged after barely racing in international competition over the last two years because of Covid-19 restrictions.
“This was Lui’s third overseas competition in the past two years, including the National Games last September and a competition in Queensland, Australia in March 2020,” Tang said.
The pair will fly to Germany on March 23 for further training and competitions.
“Competing in German and European events is a really good start,” Tang said.
“This was also Lui’s first competition of the year. Our goal is targeted for the Hangzhou Asian Games in September, so considering it was her first, I can accept that performance. Of course, all athletes want to break their PBs.
“More importantly, this experience has let her gauge the difference in physical abilities compared to world-class opponents, which will give her a tangible direction to work towards during our training in Germany.”
