LI, Tao @ Hong Kong

HONG KONG: Sun Haiping, the coach of Liu Xiang, can look back now with relief and state the star hurdler’s comeback from a serious leg injury was nothing short of a “miracle”.

Liu returned to the track after 13 months away from the sport at September’s IAAF Golden Grand Prix in Shanghai and finished a stunning second. He then went on to win at the National Games in Shandong and Asian Championships in Guangdong.

“Many athletes have not been able to make it back to the track after injuring their Achilles tendon,” Sun said.

“Some doctors and experts from Shanghai were gloomy about Liu’s injury at the beginning but now they are amazed by his convalescence, which was comparatively short and the recovery has been almost perfect,” he told China Daily yesterday.

“It’s a miracle and even his American doctor said so.”

Liu arrived in Hong Kong yesterday to compete in tomorrow’s 110m hurdles at the East Asian Games.

Four days ago, in Shanghai, he was checked by Tom Clanton, the American doctor who performed the surgery on his injured right foot last year, and was given a clean bill of health.

As usual, Sun remains wary of pushing his star to hard despite the positive result.

“It is not, as some reports indicate, that Liu has totally recovered. I would say he is at most 90 percent,” he said.

“And we are very concerned about the other 10 percent, which I believe is crucial.”

Because of that caution, Sun said he did not want to impose intensive training on Liu just yet.

He said he wants to build up the Olympic and world champion gradually on the way to ultimately regaining his world-beating form .

“I have to be very careful with the workload on him as the ankle is still vulnerable,” said Sun.

Liu has not missed a day of training since the Asian Athletics Championships in Guangzhou last month. He cruised to victory there in 13.50 seconds. In Hong Kong, Sun expects Liu to run about 13.40.

“Liu won a gold medal at the Macao East Asian Games four years ago. He won’t let his supporters down in Hong Kong, where he has been adored for a long time,” said Sun.

Sun said although Liu’s confidence is high following his successful comeback performances, the athlete remains wary of a recurrence of the injury.

“Liu didn’t want to miss the East Asian Games and he was doing everything he could to prevent getting hurt again. He is very confident of victory in Hong Kong this Friday,” said Sun.

The men’s 110m hurdles preliminaries at the Games are scheduled for 9:40 am tomorrow and the final is set for 3:30 pm.

(China Daily 12/10/2009 page22)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2009-12/10/content_9151767.htm

HONG KONG: Chinese sharpshooter Zhu Qinan, 2004 Olympic Game gold and 2008 Olympic silver medalist won the first gold medal in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle competition for the Chinese squad in the 2009 East Asian Games yesterday.

Zhu shot 598 in the qualifications, 1 point ahead of his second-place Chinese teammate Liu Tianyou. Zhu also was off to a perfect start in the subsequent 10-shot finals. All of his first seven shots were above 10.5, which advanced him to a place among the finalists. The weaker eighth and last shots of 10.1 and 9.9 did not constitute any obstacle to securing the championship, since Zhu was so close to – 0.5 point away from – setting a new world record.

“I am not disappointed missing the chance at all, which demonstrates I still have potential for improvement,” said Zhu, adding, “Given that I did not have systematic training for almost a month after the National Games, I am content with the result.”

Yesterday was the last day of table-tennis competition in the Games. China, Hong Kong (China) and Japan shared the remaining five gold medals, in pursuit of which four matches were played between players from the same squad.

Four Chinese players occupied the table of the two singles finals. Yao Yan defeated Wen Jia 4-3 in Women’s Singles. Xu Xin defeated Zhang Jike 4-2 in the Men’s singles.

In the Men’s Doubles, finalists of the Singles’ match, Zhang and Xu paired up, 4-1 to defeat the Chinese Taipei pair Chiang Peng-Lung and Wu Chih-Chi and took the crown.

“We played out our own advantages, even though we lost the third games, when they made changes and we did not adapt to it immediately,” said the Chinese pair.

Eight gold medals were split by Japan and China in swimming events last night.

Among the Chinese squad, Jiao Liuyang and Hong Wenwen ranked first and third, respectively, in the Women’s 50m Butterfly. Liu Jing seized gold in the Women’s 200m Individual Medley. Gao Chang snatched the gold medal in the Women’s 50m Backstroke, while another Chinese swimmer, Zhao Jing, was 0.02 second behind, winning a silver. China also triumphed in the Women’s 4*200m Freestyle Relay, followed by Hong Kong, which garnered a silver. Li Yunqi came in runner-up in the Men’s 800m Freestyle. Zhou Jiawei and Shi Feng took the second and third places in Men’s 50m Butterfly. Zhang Yu won a bronze medal in the Men’s 200m Backstroke.

However, newly titled world champion in the 2009 World Aquatics Championships, Chinese swimmer Zhang Lin received only a bronze, 3.22 seconds behind the champion, Japanese Okumura Yoshihiro, in the Men’s 200m Freestyle last night.

“I feel sorry for the result today. But I was swimming through the World Championships, Asian Championships and National Games in the recent months, and I am burned out,” said Zhang.

A Herculean effort by the Chinese also swept the gold in the weightlifting events yesterday. Long Qingquan, 2008 Olympic champion, claimed an easy victory in the Men’s 56kg-category. His total lifted weight exceeded that of the runner-up Chinese Taipei player by 40 kg. Another Chinese, Yang Lian, also prevailed in the Women’s 48kg-category weightlifting event.

(HK Edition 12/08/2009 page1)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2009-12/08/content_9134216.htm

With one day left before the East Asian Games’ opening ceremony, Secretary for Home Affairs Tsang Tak-sing told the world “Hong Kong is all ready” at the flag raising ceremony for the 2009 East Asian Games at Hong Kong Park’s Olympic Square yesterday.

It is the first international multi-sports event Hong Kong has ever hosted. With the Games featuring 262 competitive events in 22 sports, about 2,300 athletes from 9 countries and regions – including the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macao, Chinese Taipei, Guam, Mongolia, North Korea, Japan and the Republic of Korea – will gather at the Pearl of the Orient to compete for the medals.

Nineteen Olympic gold medalists from the mainland, including hurdles king Liu Xiang and diving queen Guo Jingjing, are ready to lead the powerful squad to dazzle the host city.

Zhu Qinan, gold medal winner at the 2004 Athens Olympics and silver medal winner at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the Men’s 10m air rifle event, was present at the flag-raising ceremony yesterday as one of the athlete representatives of the mainland squad.

“The city looks better compared to my last visit here, and the venue facilities, transportation and accommodations are all well prepared for the Games this time,” said Zhu.

Spearheading the mainland table-tennis squad is another world champion. Wang Hao, who having just celebrated his 26th birthday during his warm-up for preliminary contests in Hong Kong, said he didn’t participate in many international competitions this year, and was still in pain caused by a leg injury.

“I will play only in the men’s team events this time, to leave more opportunities for the young players. Some of those young players are already world champions, but they still need to accumulate experience through real action,” said Wang.

However, Huang Biao, captain of the mainland table tennis team, said upon arrival in Hong Kong that although his charges are mostly rising stars, they are still targeting all the gold medals this time.

Yao Yan, new comer to the mainland women’s table tennis squad, said she was confident, even though it was her first time representing the country in women’s team events.

“People tend to think that the mainland is undefeatable in table tennis,” said Yao, “but I don’t think much about winning or losing, just about trying our best to play well.”

Even though mainland table-tennis teams are considered “invincible”, Tie Yana from Hong Kong, a double-silver medalist at the 2006 Asian Games, would love to take advantage of the fact that Hong Kong is the host of the East Asian Games this time.

“I think the mainland team is always our biggest rival. Even though the female players representing the mainland this time are all relatively young ones, their abilities are unquestionable, since they are all from the national team. To me, it was hard not to expect anything for this competition, especially when it was hosted at home,” said Tie.

“The mainland did not send the strongest players this time, but it doesn’t mean we will have a better chance. Look at the performance of those Japanese players in the last world championships; they strongly challenged the mainland team,” said Chan Kong-wah, coach of the Hong Kong table-tennis team.

Chan said the home squad promised to win medals in every event, but it still all depends on their performances on the court.

After the preliminary competition in the past few days, all the mainland and Hong Kong table-tennis teams have made it into the semifinals.

However, luck deserted Hong Kong’s badminton. Chan Chi-choi, head coach of the home badminton team, said all their promising sports events, such as men’s singles and women’s team matches, have drawn match-ups with the mainland that are scheduled for early-stage contests, which, as a consequence, makes it unrealistic to expect anything this time.

“This is the worst draw I could even imagine. It is hard to expect a medal in any of the events,” said Chan.

Chan said although Hong Kong’s Zhou Mi and Yip Pui-yin seeded first and second in women’s singles, because Zhou has been under the weather and Yip has been plagued by injuries, he was not optimistic about medal prospects in this contest either.

Hong Kong’s hope, Hu Yun, who has recently been on top of his game, will confront 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medalist Lin Dan immediately, if Hu is able to get past his opponent in the first round.

“Someone like Lin Dan, even if he is not at his best, still plays better than most others. I played with Lin in the past before I joined the Hong Kong team. I am confident about playing him again here in Hong Kong. If I defeat him this time, I will definitely be able to win a gold medal,” said Hu.

Hong Kong also expected to achieve success in events like cue sports and squash. Because of their outstanding performances yesterday, Hong Kong’s snooker players are eying victory in the 15-red snooker men’s team finals, and all four squash players have successfully made it into the semifinals.

Hong Kong is also ready to surprise the nay-saying pundits.

The South Korean football team’s gold medal ambitions took a body blow from the Hong Kong side in the first round, losing 4-1. Hong Kong’s No 1 striker, Chan Siu-ki, pumped up by the victory, said what they are now looking forward to is the gold medal – which now sounds less farfetched than before.

The Games are to be formally opened up tonight at Victoria Harbour, 8 pm.

(HK Edition 12/05/2009 page7)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2009-12/05/content_9122880.htm

HONG KONG: Table-tennis team competition opened the 2009 East Asian Games preliminary contests yesterday. However, the Hong Kong men’s table-tennis team didn’t have an auspicious start, even though the support from the spectators rocked the Queen Elizabeth Stadium.

Hong Kong got off to a perfect start against the Republic of Korea team when Cheung Yuk took the opening by defeating Jeong Sangeun. However, Hong Kong failed to nail the victory in the next two games. Hong Kong’s Ko Lai-chak then evened the score at 2-2 by defeating Jeong again. However, Cheung came up short, lost the final game, and the match, to Lee Jinkwun.

However, the Chinese women and men’s table-tennis teams paddled to easy victories, with no serious opposition.

Zhang Yining, Guo Yue and Wang Nan from the Chinese women’s table-tennis team passed up no opportunities yesterday.

The trio shut out Macao with a straight 3:0 performance in the morning. Eight hours later, they dispatched Japan – seen as a formidable competitor challenging the Chinese team – with a repeat 3:0 shutout.

The Chinese men’s team also took on Macao in the first preliminary round. It took the three young Chinese players 34 minutes to whack their way to their easy shutout victory over their countrymen.

Qin Zhijian, coach of the Chinese men’s table-tennis team said the purpose of the preliminary competition was to exercise and warm up his young players. He said the humid weather in Hong Kong speeded up the ball, but it didn’t handicap their play, since the opponents were not strong enough. However, Qin felt that these young players will need to avoid being too tense in upcoming matches.

World Champion Wang Hao did not participate in the team competition yesterday. Wang said it was important to leave more opportunities for the up-and-coming players, since what they need most is the practical experience.

In other preliminary table-tennis contests yesterday, the Republic of Korea prevailed against Chinese Taipei, winning 3:1 in the men’s table-tennis team, while Chinese Taipei snatched a victory in the women’s table-tennis team competition, edging out the Republic of Korea’s women’s team 3:2 in return.

Football, basketball and volleyball also debuted in the preliminary phase yesterday. These early contests will last for three days, until December 4, the day before the lighting of the flame for the Games.

It is the first international multi-sports event Hong Kong has ever hosted. However, attendance in the first preliminary day was not encouraging. Deputy Secretary for Home Affairs Vincent Liu said low attendance during preliminary contests was normal among most international sports events, particularly given that it was a weekday yesterday.

“The tickets on sale this time are all full-day passes, which entitle spectators to watch any competitions in the same venue on a whole-day basis. As many people have to work during the daytime, like today, I believe the attendance will be up at night, especially when Hong Kong teams are participating in the games,” said Liu.

As for upcoming events, cue sports are scheduled to chalk up from today. Hong Kong snooker player Marco Fu Ka-chun will appear in the first round.

(HK Edition 12/03/2009 page1)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2009-12/03/content_9105451.htm

HONG KONG: At District Court, yesterday, four people were found guilty in Hong Kong’s largest market manipulation case – conspiring in rigging and inflating the prices of Asia Standard Hotel Group (ASH Group) shares.

Among the four defendants, Chan Chin-yuen, described as having played “the most important role” by Deputy Judge Johnny Chan in this severe market abuse, was sentenced to a 30-month prison term. Chan’s sister-in-law, Elaine Au Yeung Man-chun, his brother Chan Chin-tat and a friend, Chui Siu-fung, were all sentenced to 26 months behind bars, with fines for each of HK$288,400.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) alleged, and the court concurred, that from August 1 to September 5, 2005, Chan Chin-yuen funded his three co-conspirators and repeatedly traded largely among themselves to create a false or misleading impression of the degree of investor interest in the stock. The SFC said the false trading constituted more than 50 percent of ASH Group shares traded during the period

The case is the first indictable prosecution for market manipulation in Hong Kong under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO), which came into force in 2003. The SFO raised the penalty for market manipulation up to a maximum of 10-years imprisonment and HK$10 million in fines.

Judge Chan said it was a public concern for Hong Kong to establish a well-functioning fair market. He said that what the four had done not only harmed interests of the investors, but also damaged the reputation of the Hong Kong stock market globally.

Chan Tak-ching, senior manager of enforcement from the SFC, said the false trading in this case raised the share price of ASH Group by 78 percent, which ramped up the company’s market capitalization by HK$4 billion, both figures setting records for market manipulation cases in Hong Kong.

(HK Edition 11/27/2009 page1)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2009-11/27/content_9060397.htm