Hong Kong up and running at Asian Indoor Games with three medals as Lui Lai-yiu wins gold

Cecilia Yeung Man-wai and Cheung Wang-fung also secure bronze medals for Hong Kong in Ashgabat

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Lui Lai-yiu celebrates her gold medal for Hong Kong. Photos: Hong Kong Olympic Committee

Published: 10:32pm, 18 Sep 2017Updated: 9:59am, 19 Sep 2017

Lui Lai-yiu gave Hong Kong a flying start with her gold medal in the women’s 60-metre hurdles at the Asian Indoor Games in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on Monday.

On a night when glamour girl Cecilia Yeung Man-wai celebrated her 23rd birthday with a bronze for Hong Kong in the women’s high jump, while Cheung Wang-fung finished third in the men’s 60-metre hurdles, it was Lui’s achievement that stole the limelight at the 5,000-seat Indoor Athletics Arena.

Already the fastest in the two heats with a personal best of 8.54 seconds in the afternoon, Lui went a step further when she crossed the finish line in 8.41 seconds in the evening’s final in the capital city.

“It’s possibly one of our best results at international level, thanks to the hard work of our athletes and coaches,” said Amateur Athletic Association senior vice-chairman Simon Yeung Sai-mo.

“Lui did very well at the China National Games in Tianjin as she became the first hurdler from Hong Kong to reach the final. Although she could not win a medal, she was never discouraged and made up for it in Ashgabat with a gold.”

Both Lui and Yeung took part in three major games in a row but failed to win any silverware in the previous two – the World University Games in August followed by the China National Games.