The Hong Kong, China team won its first-ever gold in the history of the Youth Olympic Games, as wushu athlete Poon Hao-ran won first place in the men's Taijiquan combined Final Taijishan at the ongoing fourth edition of the games in Dakar, Senegal.

After advancing from the preliminary round in the second place, Poon scored 9.360 in the opening Taijiquan event of the final, which took place Tuesday afternoon local time.

In the subsequent Taijishan event, the 15-year-old, a flag-bearer of the Hong Kong, China delegation, earned another 9.360 points, finishing with a total score of 18.720 to move into first place and claim Hong Kong's first-ever gold medal in the games.

The Dakar games have seen the debut of wushu as a games event. “It was extremely glorious and very proud of representing the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. I feel that today's performance was at the level of my usual training, and I'm quite satisfied with it,” Poon told local media.

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In a statement on Wednesday, Hong Kong Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui congratulated Poon’s achievement, describing it as a historic result that has made all Hong Kong residents proud.

“We look forward to our athletes continuing to achieve excellent results and bringing honour to Hong Kong,” Law said.

Philip Mok Kwan-yat, honorary deputy secretary-general of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China and head of mission of the Hong Kong, China delegation, said Poon delivered a steady performance throughout the competition.

“He was particularly impressive in the final, demonstrating smooth execution, outstanding technique and a fine balance of power and elegance,” Mok said.

“This gold medal reflects the tremendous potential of Hong Kong's young athletes. The entire delegation takes great pride and encouragement from this accomplishment.”

Meanwhile, table tennis duo Su Tsz-tung and Li Ki-ho earned a silver medal in the mixed doubles event, and swimmer Man Wui-kiu captured bronze in the women's 100-meter breaststroke — the Hong Kong, China team's first medal at the ongoing sports meet.

The fourth Youth Olympic Games, also the first Olympic event ever held in Africa, began on Saturday and run through Nov 13. The Hong Kong, China delegation has sent 15 athletes to compete in 12 sports — athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, breaking, fencing, rowing, swimming, table tennis, triathlon, windsurfing, and wushu.

Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com