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Co-organised by the Home Affairs Bureau, the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC) and the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI), and supported by the Chinese Olympic Committee, the Visit of the Rio Olympic Games Mainland Olympians Delegation - Olympians Exchange with Future Sports Stars at HKSI took place today.  This event offered a rare opportunity to hundreds of local future sports stars and students of the HKSI’s Elite Athlete-friendly School Network to exchange with the Mainland elite athletes and learn from their remarkable experience.

Officiating guests included Mr Lau Kong-wah JP, Secretary for Home Affairs and Mr Matthias Li, Vice-Chairman of the HKSI.   Mr Li greeted the visiting delegation with a warm welcome and said, “We are very honoured to welcome some of our country’s best athletes who had achieved stunning results at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games that was just completed last week.  We are grateful that they are able to join us today and thank you for the generous support to our elite training system from various units in the Mainland.”

Ms Song Keqin, Deputy General Director of the External Affairs Department of the General Administration of Sport of China, presented a souvenir to Mr Matthias Li at today's ceremony.

Mr Lau appreciated the Mainland Olympians coming to Hong Kong and the HKSI.  He said, "I hope our Mainland Olympians can visit us more often in future as they provide a valuable source of expertise and inspiration for youngsters in Hong Kong."

The star-studded delegation consisted of 22 Mainland Olympians, including Liu Hong, Su Bingtian and Wang Zhen (athletics); Chen Long, Lin Dan and Zhang Nan (badminton); Cao Yuan, Chen Aisen, Liu Huixia, Ren Qian, Shi Tingmao and Wu Minxia (diving); Zhang Mengxue (shooting); Fu Yuanhui and Sun Yang (swimming); Liu Shiwen and Xu Xin (table tennis), and Deng Wei, Long Qingquan, Meng Suping, Shi Zhiyong and Xiang Yanmei (weightlifting).

Table tennis Olympic gold medallists Liu Shiwen and Xu Xin, together with top badminton players Chen Long, Lin Dan and Zhang Nan, showcased their superb skills in the sports demonstration session.  They also partnered with a few Hong Kong junior athletes and local students, providing an unforgettable opportunity to the youngsters to compete with their Olympic heroes.

Lui Chun-wai , HKSI’s junior badminton athlete, said after the interacting session, “I am thrilled to have partnered with Lin Dan and play against the other gold medallist Zhang Nan.  This is definitely the most memorable experience for me in my life, and I hope I can improve myself and represent Hong Kong in the future to compete with world-class players in the international sporting arena.”

A Q&A session was also hosted and many students made use of the opportunity to learn more about the world-class athletes and their successful stories.  Deng Wei, gold medallist of women's weightlifting in 63kg explained to the students how she could better her result and break the world record.  She said, "The goal of playing sports is to challenge our limits and to continuously improve our own performance."

Another gold medallist, Zheng Mengxue of women's 10 metre air pistol, recalled her experience during the Games.  She said, "With an unsatisfactory preliminary round, I didn't think too much on winning in the final rounds.  I couldn't control the result but I just wanted to concentrate and focus on each shot.  And finally I won."

Tong Wing-nam, a student from Lam Tai Fai College, expressed, “I am really excited to exchange with these legendary sport icons in person.  Although they are the greatest players in the world, they are still very humble and willing to share their experience with us.  They always show their fighting spirit on court, but today they are very kind and gentle.”

The event was concluded on a high note as the Mainland Olympians wrote encouraging messages on the backdrop to deliver their best wishes to Hong Kong’s athletes and the community as a whole.

The Visit of the Rio Olympic Games Mainland Olympians Delegation - Olympians Exchange with Future Sports Stars at HKSI was the last stop during their short stay in Hong Kong.   After visiting the HKSI, the delegation departed Hong Kong and continued their journey to Macau in the afternoon.