Asian Youth Athletics Championships: teen sprinter bags double bronze on record-breaking day for Hong Kong squad
- Hong Kong team finishes with record eight medals after bagging four bronze on final day
- Double triumph for Peach Li who is the first from city to win three medals at a single championships
Teen sprinter Peach Li Tsz-to bagged two bronze medals on a record-breaking day for Hong Kong’s athletes at the Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Kuwait.
Li finished on the podium in the girls’ 200m and again in the 1,000m mixed relay on Sunday, and alongside the bronze she previously claimed in the 100m became the first Hong Kong athlete to win three medals at a youth championships.
With Yiu Pak-yu also taking bronze in the boys’ long lump with a personal best leap of 7 metres, and the boys finishing third in the medley relay on the final day of the competition, Hong Kong’s athletes bagged a record eight medals, winning one gold, one silver and six bronze.
The city’s previous best performance was in 2017, when the team claimed two silver and three bronze. Hong Kong hosted the last championships in 2019, when the squad won one gold and two silver, matching the success in 2015.
Li’s performance was all the more impressive considering the 16-year-old has been suffering from an infection in her right eye. But that did not stop her setting a personal best in the 200m, coming home in a time of 24.79 second.
Vanesa Valentin of Indonesia topped the podium in 24.06, with Athicha Phetkun of Thailand taking silver in 24.48, with the trio finishing in the same positions in the 100m final on Thursday.
“I’ve been waiting to break under 25 seconds for more than a year, I did it in a local club meet in September [24.81 seconds], and I can better the time here [in Kuwait] in 24.79, it’s a very encouraging sign,” Li said.
“I did not expect any medals before the trip because it was my first overseas trip, and to end up with three bronze medals was a surprise and I was so happy with it.”
