Long jumper Chan Ming-tai back in Olympic groove after winning Hong Kong title
- Leung’s 7.70m was his best result since he jumped 7.85m two years ago and it could be enough to send him to the Tokyo Games on a wild card
- High jump queen Cecilia Yeung also makes good progress in her second meet since recovering from a serious Achilles tendon injury
Long jumper Chan Ming-tai took a leap of faith in producing his best result in two years at the annual Hong Kong Championships on Sunday, while high jump queen Cecilia Yeung Man-wai continued her recovery from a career-threatening Achilles tendon injury with a solid performance.
On the second day of domestic track and field’s flagship event at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground, Chan lifted the men’s title with a jump of 7.70 metres in his sixth and last jump when he needed to throw caution to the wind.
Yeung, who suffered the injury during a practice session at the Sports Institute two years ago, cleared 1.75 metres and came third in her event, which was won by Priscilla Cheung Ching-laam. All top four finishers cleared the same height but Cheung had the fewest misses on countback. Second place went to Chung Wai-yan.
“The last time I jumped 7.85 metres was at the 2019 Inter-city Championships in Hong Kong and I have been struggling to make that mark since,” said Chan, who made his Olympic debut in Rio in 2016, having set a Hong Kong record 8.12 metres before the Games. “I know I have the ability to jump that distance again [7.85 metres] as I have done it during training. But I must prove it in real competition.
“Today, I am happy to make that distance but more importantly I am able to apply many of the skills that I have practised during training.”
