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Certificates of merit were awarded to 28 Hong Kong athletes at a welcome home ceremony today (November 8) to recognise their good performances at the 6th National Cities Games of the Peopleˇ¦s Republic of China.
A total of 107 Hong Kong athletes took part in the 6th National Cities Games, which ended on November 3, in Wuhan. They competed in 15 events - swimming, judo, fencing, windsurfing, athletics, gymnastics, canoeing, wushu, shooting, cycling, taekwondo, table tennis, badminton, tennis and volleyball.
In the men's BMX, Steven Wong won a gold medal.
Hong Kong athletes advanced to the quarter-finals in swimming, cycling, tennis, judo, table tennis and athletics. The quarter-finalists and those who broke Hong Kong records or their own personal bests received the certificates of merit at the ceremony at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
Praising the performance of the Hong Kong athletes, the Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs, Mrs Carrie Yau, said: "The 6th National Cities Games provided a timely opportunity for Hong Kong's young athletes to match skills with athletes from different Mainland cities and provinces before the 2008 Beijing Olympics."
Looking ahead, Mrs Yau said Hong Kong athletes would face more challenges when they took part in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2009 East Asian Games in Hong Kong.
The National Cities Games are held every four years to promote sports development in China and to identify young sports talent for the Chinese national teams. A total of 74 units, mainly cities, participate in the 6th National Cities Games.
Other officiating guests at the welcome home ceremony were the Chairman of the Organising Committee for the HKSAR Delegation and President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, Mr Timothy Fok, and the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mr Thomas Chow.
Ends/Thursday, November 8, 2007
Issued at HKT 18:07
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