Asian Games 2023: Hong Kong’s ‘breakthrough moment’ hailed after record-breaking Hangzhou haul
- City reaches new heights, finishing Games with 53 medals, comprising eight golds, 16 silvers and 29 bronzes
- ‘We are a small city with a small population, but I am very proud of the results we have had,’ chef de mission Kenneth Fok says
Hong Kong’s results at the Asian Games were a “breakthrough moment” and proved the city has a bright sporting future ahead, chef de mission Kenneth Fok Kai-kong said on Saturday.
Speaking minutes before the men’s footballers took on Uzbekistan in a third-place play-off, a game they lost 4-0, Fok said the 53 medals the city’s athletes had won in Hangzhou should be a source of pride for Hongkongers.
Fok took just two questions before rushing away from the short briefing, to reveal there would be a flag bearer when the team returned to the city on Monday – without specifying who that might be – and to avoid predicting how many medals, if any, the city might win at next summer’s Olympics in Paris.
His suggestion was to instead ask the chef de mission appointed to accompany the delegation to France.
This meant he did not comment on whether there would be a review of the overall performance, or what the Hong Kong Sports Institute would need to do to continue to raise the bar.
