The Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, today (September 2) extended her congratulations to Hong Kong athletes on their outstanding achievements in the 18th Asian Games held in Jakarta and Palembang in Indonesia, lauding their perseverance and distinguished performance.
"This is the largest Hong Kong delegation ever to participate in the Asian Games and I wished the athletes great success at the flag presentation ceremony. They lived up to our expectations and won a total of 46 medals, comprising eight gold medals, 18 silver medals and 20 bronze medals, outnumbering the gold medals won in the last Asian Games in Incheon and the total number of medals in any previous Asian Games by Hong Kong. Apart from continuing to perform well in traditional sports which Hong Kong excels, the Hong Kong athletes won gold medals for the first time in equestrian and rugby in the Asian Games. They scored Hong Kong's best results in the Asian Games and broke the Hong Kong records in many events. The achievement in bridge, a new event for this year, is remarkable and a gold medal was won in the eSports demonstration. All of these have been most encouraging.
"The Hong Kong athletes had endured arduous training over the years and fought hard in the competitions, displaying indomitable sportsmanship. With or without medal, the grace shown by all our athletes in the Games made me and, I believe, all Hong Kong people extremely proud. I look forward to attending the welcome home reception to be held by the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China on September 17 to extend my congratulations personally to the athletes.
"The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government will continue to support Hong Kong athletes and the development of sports in Hong Kong. I announced in my Policy Address last year that we would take forward the Kai Tak Sports Park Project and encourage public sector schools to open up their school facilities to increase sports facilities and promote a sporting culture, and provide funding support for the development of sports for athletes with disabilities and ball games played by teams. Also, we announced recently the allocation of HK$6 billion to the Elite Athletes Development Fund to provide stronger support for elite athletes. The HKSAR Government will continue to listen to views of athletes, coaches and people in the sports sector and respond proactively, with a view to providing the strongest backing to athletes in their endeavours to bring honour home," Mrs Lam said.
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