Hong Kong’s men’s rugby sevens team have capped their entry as a Tier A sport at the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) this year by being crowned champions of Asia after winning the third leg of the 2014 ARFU Asian Sevens Series in Beijing.

The team, who had already won the first two legs of the Asian Series in Hong Kong and Malaysia, beat Korea 36-19 to seal the title, going through the entire series unbeaten.

Head Rugby Sevens Coach Gareth Baber, who became the men’s and women’s head coach in early 2014, said the victory was fitting demonstration of the progress made.

“The teams’ entry into the HKSI pretty much conincided with my arrival in Hong Kong and this has provided a great opportunity for the programme,” said the Welshman.

“What has impressed me most about the team has been how they have grabbed hold of the opportunities given to them and repaid the investment which has been put into them.

“In particular, I am pleased with their attitude of becoming full-time players, the motivation, the drive and the determination to continually improve along with the discipline it takes to survive and excel in such a competitive environment as sport.”

With a maximum of 12 points at each of the three legs, Hong Kong finished the season with 36, four ahead of Korea and five ahead of Japan.

“Winning the Asian Series was a very important achievement for the team,” added Coach Baber, whose side also won silver at the Incheon Asian Games in September.

“This was part of that goal setting structure and has helped to confirm that we are on the correct development path. However, it was the manner in which we went about the winning of the series that impressed me the most.

“We were able to show a ruthless competitive collective not just once but throughout the tournament and produced a record of 15 wins out of 15. This for me provides strong evidence that the team understands the level of competition we are at currently and what it will take to progress further.”

Hong Kong’s next competition will be at the Hong Kong Sevens in March 2015, where they will take part in the qualifying competition to become a core team on the IRB World Sevens Series – the elite core teams play in every leg of the series around the world.

Baber said the facilities and expertise of the HKSI will be essential if Hong Kong are to realise their dream of joining the likes of New Zealand, Australia and England.

“The HKSI has been vital in the speed and nature of these developments,” added Baber. “Not only does it provide the opportunity to have access to some world-class facilities but it is also the multi-disciplinary approach of the various high performance departments which has provided the basis for the mental, cultural and lifestyle developments of the players.

“Whilst these athletes are doing something they love, the toll on their body and mind can be significant.

“The HKSI allows us to analyse this on a daily basis, monitoring the working loads on the players and ensuring that they remain healthy and in peak mental and physical condition for crucial periods in the season.

“The obvious goal for us, as a group, is to maintain performance levels to date and then look at how we can push on. A huge element of that is the introduction of new talent into the programme, which has been nurtured through the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union development pathways.”

Hong Kong’s women’s team also impressed, finishing third in Beijing, and third overall with 13 points, two behind winners China and one behind Japan.

Hong Kong athletes enjoyed a successful Asian Para Games in Incheon, Korea, in which they landed a total of 44 medals (full details here), finishing an impressive seventh overall in terms of total medals won.

The 119-strong team returned with 10 gold, 15 silver and 19 bronze from nine of the 14 sports in which they took part: archery, athletics, boccia, lawn bowls, sailing, swimming, table tennis, wheelchair dance and wheelchair fencing.

Among the highlights were 14 medals for the wheelchair fencing team (4 gold, 5 silver, 5 bronze), 7 for the swimmers (1 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze) and 6 for the table tennis team (1 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze).

Hong Kong also medalled in wheelchair dance (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) and sailing (bronze), both were events in which they competed for the first time.

Upon their arrival at the Hong Kong International Airport, the team were welcomed by The Hon CY Leung GBM GBS JP, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, who hailed their achievement and presented them with certificates of commendation.

Secretary for Home Affairs The Hon Tsang Tak-sing GBS JP also saluted them, saying: “I sincerely take pride in the achievements of the Hong Kong delegation and their exceptional performance in a competition of the highest standard. I hope that they will continue to excel themselves and achieve more great results in the future.”

A leg of the FINA/MASTBANK Swimming World Cup was held in Hong Kong at the new pool in Victoria Park on 29 and 30 September, and local swimmers held their own against the world’s best, winning 2 gold, 1 silver and 7 bronze medals.

Geoffrey Cheah and Au Hoi-shun were the pick of Hong Kong’s performers, involved in all but two of the 10 medals.

“I was swimming with [London Olympic gold medallist Chad] Le Clos, [South Africa’s Leith] Shankland and [Australia’s Thomas] Fraser-Holmes and they are all really amazing swimmers,” said Cheah of an “amazing experience”.

“I’m really excited that the World Cup will be held here for the next three years. It’s an opportunity for Hong Kong swimmers and for Hong Kong to see world-class swimmers.”

Cheah teamed up with Mak Ho-lun and Sze Hang-yu to win the mixed 4x50m freestyle relay, and he, Au, Sze and Wong Chun-yan also won the mixed 4x50m medley relay.

Cheah was third in the 50m and 100m backstroke, 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle, while Au was third in the women’s 50m and 100m backstroke.

Sze took silver in the women’s 100m butterfly and Yeung Zhen-mei was third in the women’s 50m breaststroke.

Billiard sports athlete Ip Wan-in won a bronze medal in the Individual event at the WLBSA Eden Classic held on 4 - 5 October in Derbyshire, England.

Tenpin bowling athlete Cheng Chung-hang won a bronze medal in the Women’s Open event at the 12^th Indonesia International Open Bowling Championships held on 18 - 26 October in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Hong Kong triathlon team won 2 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals at the Hong Kong ASTC Triathlon Asian Cup held on 25 - 26 October in Hong Kong.