Don’t fear failure, Olympic star Quan Hongchan tells Hong Kong as team visit starts

A delegation of mainland Chinese Olympic medallists arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday to a rousing welcome, with teenage diving sensation Quan Hongchan encouraging the city’s young people to chase their dreams and not to fear failure.

All eyes were on the 65 Olympians, dressed in white pants or skirts and red blazers, as their flight from Beijing landed at Hong Kong airport just before noon, the start of a busy three-day visit for the athletes and their coaches.

After a red-carpet welcome on the tarmac, the group left in a fleet of minibuses for their hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui where they met the press before heading to a reception and banquet hosted by Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu.

Lee said the visit fully reflected the importance and care the central government attached to Hong Kong and he hoped the delegation – fresh from winning 91 medals including 40 golds at the Paris Olympics – would feel at home during the trip.

“The outstanding result at the Games was the embodiment of the progress of the national sports industry and an epitome of China’s modernisation achievements, it fully demonstrates the strength of our country in the new era,” he said.