customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Mike Chan

Lo Wai-fung admitted there was a gap between him and elite taekwondo athletes after finishing seventh in the under-68kg category at the Paris Olympics.
The first Hongkonger to qualify for the Games since taekwondo became a medal sport in Sydney in 2000, Lo was denied in the repechage round late on Thursday by Liang Yushuai of China, who was then awarded bronze when his next opponent withdrew from their final.
The 21-year-old Lo lost the first round only 5-4 but the second round was stopped after Liang’s lead grew to 13-0, giving him a 2-0 success.
“I panicked in round two and didn’t defend well,” he said later. “I was rushing [to get some points back] and that led to the turning kick to my head.

“I wasn’t nervous, but worrying about the points difference [when trailing by eight] while competing at the Olympics made me realise the difference between me and others.
“Experience, speed, strength – there were gaps in every aspect. If my stamina was not as good, I should have played to my strength and done more of what I was good at, instead of using my shortcomings to fight the others.”
Having been handed a spot at the Games after refugee athlete Ali Reza Abbasi was disqualified, Lo had a convincing 2-0 win over Yahya Al Ghotany of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team in the qualification round at Paris’ Grand Palais.
Being drawn with reigning Olympic and Asian Games champion Ulugbek Rashitov in the round of 16 turned out to be a blessing in disguise, despite a 2-0 loss.
With the Uzbek going on to reach the gold medal match – where he beat Jordan’s Zaid Kareem to defend his title – Lo, as a loser to a finalist, was one of two given the opportunity to fight in the repechage. That chance was not available to the others ousted in the last 16.
“I’ll continue to work hard and try to narrow the gap [with the best],” said Lo, who is expected to pocket HK$375,000 (US$48,000) in prize money from the Jockey Club Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme. “I believe I can surpass them one day.
“I can surely do better and I do have a lot of shortcomings, I just need to work on them to slowly improve myself.
“I still want to win medals – this is the same for any athlete. I enjoyed every minute of my first Games. From scouting the arena earlier to finishing my competition, it felt like a dream. There were a lot of spectators and I had never seen that before.”
Even if he will head home empty-handed, the Hong Kong coach heaped praise on his pupil for executing what they had planned.
“He could use all the strategies we laid out for him, so the coaching staff were extremely satisfied,” Kelvin Wong Ka-wing said. “It was a fact that we didn’t bring home any medals, but he did really well.”

Taekwondo receives second-tier public funding from the Hong Kong Sports Institute. Wong added that if the sport were to be upgraded to Tier A, with the extra resources that brings, the city could potentially aim higher.
“We could participate in more overseas competitions and try to qualify for the next Olympics via world rankings,” he said.
“But there’s always a way to try to do it, regardless of our status. We will not play the blame game.”


Legacy of Paris Games will live on far beyond 2024

Hong Kong Sports Commissioner Sam Wong quits 1 year into job

IOC’s complicated election rules could block Sebastian Coe’s bid to become president

Australia hockey star nets 12-month ban after attempted cocaine purchase at Paris Olympics

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Paris Olympics: Hong Kong’s Lo Wai-fung eyes future taekwondo medals after lesson on debut

Lo Wai-fung of Hong Kong aims to outmanoeuvre Liang Yushuai of China during Thursday’s bout. Photo: Reuters

Thursday’s repechage bout takes place in the magnificent surrounds of Paris’ Grand Palais. Photo: Reuters

Liang Yushuai (left) and Lo Wai-fung tangle during their repechage bout. Photo: Reuters

Paris Olympics: US’ Noah Lyles hushed up Covid positive to avoid giving ‘edge’ to rivals

Noah Lyles (far left) receives care from medical staff following the men’s Olympic 200m final. Photo: Reuters

Letsile Tebogo (left) wins the 200m ahead of Kenny Bednarek (second left) and Noah Lyles. Photo: Reuters

Noah Lyles sits on the track after finishing the 200m final at the Stade de France. Photo: Reuters

Lyles’ partner Junelle Bromfield is competing for Jamaica at the Paris Olympics. Photo: Reuters

Paris Olympics: China sprinters ‘too slow, too weak’ says Wu, after 100m hurdles failure

Wu Yanni believes Chinese sprinting is lagging behind the sport’s major powers. Photo: Xinhua.

The 27-year-old Wu insists she was capable of claiming 100m hurdles gold in Paris. Photo: Xinhua

The Chinese men’s relay quartet will compete in Friday’s final after surging to semi-final victory. Photo: AFP

Paris Olympics: meet Max Maeder, the kite surfer on verge of Singapore’s second gold ever

Singapore’s Maximilian Maeder in race 3 of the mens formula kite kiteboarding event at the Roucas-Blanc Marina in Marseille on August 4. Photo: AFP

Asian Games champion Max Maeder was introduced to kitesurfing by his father at the age of six. Photo: Reuters

Toni Vodisek of Slovenia is just one win away from winning the gold medal in Marseille. Photo: Xinhua

Sport

Hong Kong

Paris Olympics 2024

Games ‘made me realise the difference’ between the best and the rest, but he vows to work to narrow the gap


Games ‘made me realise the difference’ between the best and the rest, but he vows to work to narrow the gap.
