Swimming gold among 7 new medals for HK on Day 2
Hong Kong on Monday doubled its medals tally in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, highlighted by a gold medal for star swimmer Siobhan Haughey. The SAR also did well in wushu, capturing two silver medals, while a teenage fencer making her Games debut finished on the podium. Olympic silver medalist Haughey blew away the competition in the 200-metre freestyle final, setting a new Asian Games record of 1 minute 54.12 seconds. She told HOY TV after the race that this medal means a lot to her, because it's her first gold at the Asian Games. "This record doesn't have a big difference with my best time [during practice], so it's not bad. It's been two days since the Games started. I hope I can get more good results later," she said. Another Hong Kong swimmer, Ian Ho, took silver in the men's 50-metre freestyle, behind South Korea's Ji Yu-chan. "I can't be more happy. I didn't go in the Asian Games with any expectations... my first time obviously. In my entire swimming career, I think this is the pinnacle so I'm happy I've been able to go as fast as I've ever been," Ho told HOY TV. In Wushu, Liu Xuxu was second in the women's Changquan event with a total score of 9.756, while Macao's Li Yi took home the gold. In the men's competition, Samuel Hui took silver in the Taijiquan and Taijijian all-round event.  His performance earned him a 9.743 in the first half of the competition, putting him in fourth position. But then a stellar sword routine in the second half helped put him on the podium. He told HOY TV that pressure during a competition is inevitable. "I keep convincing myself that everything is okay, and I need to just enjoy the performance because it only comes every four years. But deep inside, I have set expectations for myself to do well, which has then led to a lot of pressure," Hui said. In rowing, Cheung Hoi-lam and Leung King-wan won silver in the women's pair event. They finished behind China's Wang Tingting and Zhang Xuan, while South Korea finished third. "I think our performance showed we deserve this result," Leung told RTHK. Also in rowing, Chiu Hin-chun won bronze in the men's single sculls, narrowly missing out on silver by less than a second. Fencer Daphne Chan, meanwhile, clinched a bronze medal in the women’s foil individual fencing event. The 18-year-old fencer lost 7-15 in her semi-final match against Japan's Ueno Yuka. "I sprained my ankle early on in the match. The injury wasn't serious, but it might have affected my performance a little bit, as I sometimes get nervous when I am hurt," Chan said. "But I'm still happy, as this is the first time for me to join the Asian Games. I'm surprised that I am lucky enough to have a chance to finish on the podium." After two days of competition, China top the medal chart with 39 gold, 21 silver and nine bronze medals, followed by South Korea and Japan. Hong Kong are fifth in the standings, with three gold, four silver and seven bronze medals.