Hong Kong athletes bag 41 medals at Asian Para Games with historic boccia run

Hong Kong athletes have brought home 41 medals from the Asian Para Games, winning three golds and achieving the city’s historic best in boccia.

The delegation returned on Sunday after the week-long games in Nagoya and the wider Aichi Prefecture in Japan, which began on October 18.

Eighty athletes from the city competed in 10 sports at the games, including boccia, swimming, table tennis, and fencing.

They won a total of three gold medals, 14 silver medals, and 24 bronze medals.

The highest number of medals was won in table tennis, which saw Hong Kong competitors nab five silvers and 10 bronzes.

In boccia, athletes won eight medals including two gold, three silver, and three bronze medals, marking the team’s best result in history.

Veteran boccia duo Leung Yuk-wing and Cheung Yuen beat China’s national team 9-0 in a mixed pairs event on the final day of the games, securing a “crucial” gold for Hong Kong, according to the China Hong Kong Paralympic Committee.

In fencing events, athletes took home eight medals – six of which were won by Alison Yu, a seven-time Paralympic wheelchair fencing champion.

‘Indomitable determination’

During the last Asian Para Games, which were held in Hangzhou in 2023, Hong Kong won 47 medals – eight golds, 15 silvers and 24 bronze medals.

“Hong Kong, China athletes gave their utmost in the competition, demonstrating superb skills and indomitable determination,” Chief Executive John Lee said in a statement on Saturday.

“Their achievements have not only brought honour to Hong Kong, but also inspired the community with their perseverance and never-give-up sportsmanship,” he added.

The Asian Para Games followed the Asian Games, which saw around 580 athletes from Hong Kong competing in 38 events. The Hong Kong delegation took home 54 medals, a record for the total number of medals won.

Its gold medal tally, at 11, was also the highest ever.

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Hillary Leung is a journalist at Hong Kong Free Press, where she reports on local politics and social issues, and assists with editing. Since joining in late 2021, she has covered the Covid-19 pandemic, political court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial, and challenges faced by minority communities.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Hillary completed her undergraduate degree in journalism and sociology at the University of Hong Kong. She worked at TIME Magazine in 2019, where she wrote about Asia and overnight US news before turning her focus to the protests that began that summer. At Coconuts Hong Kong, she covered general news and wrote features, including about a Black Lives Matter march that drew controversy amid the local pro-democracy movement and two sisters who were born to a domestic worker and lived undocumented for 30 years in Hong Kong.