The Hong Kong cycling team enjoyed a successful trip in Thailand at the 35^th Asian Cycling Championships & the 22^nd Asian Junior Cycling Championships held from 4 to 14 February, as they came back with 13 medals - 4 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze – on track and road.

Among the highlights were two gold and a bronze for London Olympics medallist Lee Wai-sze, as she followed up victory in the 500m time trial with a dominant performance in the sprint - though she had to settle for third in her favourite event, the keirin, after being boxed out by some canny teamwork from her rivals from the Mainland.

“They used the same tactics in the 2014 inaugural Hong Kong Cup to beat Lee and did it here again,” said Shen Jinkang, Head Cycling Coach of the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI), of China pair Lin Junhong and Li Xuemei, who were first and second in the event.

“But this is exceptional and Lee has shown she still has room for improvement.”

Earlier, Lee had outclassed a field of eight in the time trial, winning in 35.017 seconds to take the title for a fifth consecutive year. She then dominated Lin in the sprint final.

“I started from scratch with the time trial being the first major honour I won on the international stage,” she said.

“It forms the training base of all sprinting events and without the skills and technique I learned from the time trial, I couldn’t do well in the keirin.

“This is my fifth straight Asian Championship time trial gold medal and I don’t know how long I can stand on the same medal podium, but I do treasure every opportunity of competing in the event.”

Hong Kong’s other golds were won by Cheung King-lok and Leung Chun-wing in the men’s madison - the fifth successive time Hong Kong had won that event - and promising youngster Fung Ka-hoo on the road in the men’s junior individual time trial.

The 17-year-old won the 21.8km race in 29 minutes and 12.514 seconds after missing out on a medal earlier in the road race.

“He was hampered by a number of incidents during the road race,” said Coach Shen. “But he was not discouraged and worked hard to prepare for the time trial.”

The coach also praised Diao Xiaojuan for her display in the women’s omnium, taking silver.

“She has made great progress in the six-event discipline with two wins, one second and three third places in Thailand,” said Coach Shen. “She will be competing in the World Cup with an eye on a 2016 Olympic berth.”

Hong Kong’s other silvers went to Cheung King-lok in the men’s individual pursuit; Leung Bo-yee and Meng Zhaojuan in the women’s team pursuit; Wu Lok-chun in the men’s junior 1km time trial; and Leung Hoi-wah in the women’s junior scratch.

Maximilian Mitchelmore (men’s junior individual pursuit), Leung Hoi-wah (women’s junior individual road race) and Me ng Zhaojun (women’s individual road race) added to the tally with bronzes.

“He is a strong sprinter and would have a good chance for a better position had it not been for the accident,” said Coach Shen of Mitchelmore’s performance, after he suffered a puncture with 15km left.

Hong Kong’s Ng On-yee and So Man-yan were in top form at the WLBSA Eden Masters held on 31 January and 1 February in England, finishing with silver and bronze respectively.

Hong Kong sent four players to the tournament and all of them reached the quarter-finals. Ng battled all the way to the final but 10-time world champion Reanne Evans is an unbeatable force in the women’s game.

The result boosted Ng to second place in the world rankings, behind Evans.

“Ng On-yee once again was our top performer in this event that saw players from leading countries compete,” said HKSI Head Billiard Sports Coach Wayne Griffiths. “She continues to score more consistently and is proving that a maturing mental approach is serving her well - both in training and competition. She is clearly one of the top women players in the world today.

“Along with On-yee, So Man-yan is a player who has improved technically and physically in the last 12 months. This was another world-class result to show that [and] the other two Hong Kong players, Wan Ka-kai and Jaique Ip Wan-in, secured quarter final places also to complete a very strong team performance.

“The Hong Kong ladies continue to be a force on the world stage. Central training at HKSI has seen considerable improvement in the last 12 months and we will send a strong team to challenge for the 2015 WLBSA Ladies World Championships in Leeds in April.”

It was a successful February for Hong Kong’s table tennis team, with 2 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze from two World Tour events in the Middle East.

First, Doo Hoi-kem starred in Kuwait, teaming up with Lee Ho-ching for a bronze in the women’s doubles and claiming individual gold in the U21 women’s singles after a hard-fought win over Singapore’s Zeng Jian (11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-8). Li Ching-wan took bronze in the same event after being beaten by teammate Doo in the semis.

The following week, Tie Yana and Jiang Huajun teamed up in Qatar for gold in the women’s doubles, their experience was key in a
straight-games win (11-3, 11-9, 11-8) against Li Ye and Zhou Yihan from Singapore. And at the U21 level, there was another bronze for Li
Ching-wan in the women’s singles and a silver for Ho Kwan-kit in the men’s singles.