Hong Kong tennis ace Coleman Wong Chak-lam has secured another medal for the city — Hong Kong’s first National Games medal in singles tennis — after his success in the in the quarter-finals of the men’s singles event on Tuesday.
The same day also saw Hong Kong fencers taking part in the women’s épée and men’s saber team events, coming fourth and sixth, respectively.
Wong faced Cui Jie of Beijing in the singles tennis quarterfinals. The players seemed evenly matched in the first set, with the score reaching 3-3 before Cui gained the upper hand at 4-5. Wong, firing on all cylinders, levelled at 5-5 before clinching the set 7-5.
Wong carried the momentum into second set, wrapping up the 29-minute rout to secure his place in Wednesday morning’s semifinals at Hengqin International Tennis Center in Zhuhai, Guangdong province.
As the event’s rundown does not include a bronze playoff, Wong’s semifinal entry assures the Hong Kong team of at least one medal.
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Tuesday’s victory came hot on the heels of a tough doubles defeat for Wong, who partnered Wong Chun-hun on Monday evening in the men’s doubles quarterfinals draw, losing 2-0 to Jiangsu’s Tang Sheng and Sun Qian.
“We’ve secured a medal and everyone’s happy, but I believe that I can keep winning and go higher up,” Wong told reporters after the match.
“Cui and I have met in other arenas before. He’s a formidable opponent – a versatile opponent, difficult to beat,” Wong said. “In a match like this it all comes down to believing that you’re good enough to win. That’s the most important thing.”
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Also on Tuesday, Hong Kong’ s women epeeists began competing at 11:30 am in the team event.
The Hong Kong squad -- including bronze medalist Kaylin Hsieh Sin-yan, Natalie Chan Wai-ling, Moonie Chu Ka-mong, and Wu Haidi – finished fourth after losing 32-43 to the Beijing fencing team.
At 12:30 pm, the men’s fencing team were in action. Featuring saberist Aaron Ho Sze-long, silver medalist in the individual’s event, alongside Royce Chan Lok-hei, Hugo Ho Pak-lam, and Low Ho-tin, the Hong Kong quartet saw their medal hopes dashed after a 35-45 loss at the hands of the Shanghai team.
Fencing was one of eight medal events hosted by Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Arena at this year’s National Games. Each category was typically completed in a single day, including the group round, knockout phase and final medal matches.
Hong Kong’s fencing team fought in some tough bouts during this year’s National Games, bringing home one silver and two bronze medals for the city.
Earlier in Saturday’s saber event, Ho, in a historic first for the city at the National Games, earned a podium spot with a silver medal in the men’s saber individual event, while Hsieh picked up a bronze medal in the women’s épée event.
On Sunday, Olympic foil champion Edgar Cheung Ka-long was unable to overcome Xu Jie from Fujian, and ended up with a bronze medal. Hong Kong’s world champion Ryan Choi Chun-yin also lost to Xu in an earlier match, falling short of the final four.
As of Tuesday, the Hong Kong delegation had pocketed 17 medals — eight gold, two silver, and seven bronze — a record-breaking tally at the National Games. This includes a tennis bronze earned in the junior men’s team event.
