His suggestion was to instead ask the chef de mission appointed to accompany the delegation to France.

This meant he did not comment on whether there would be a review of the overall performance, or what the Hong Kong Sports Institute would need to do to continue to raise the bar.

However, the businessman and politician did give his opinion on events in Hangzhou, calling it the “most successful Asian Games in our history”.

Hong Kong matched the number of golds won in Jakarta, eight, and took nine more bronze, 29, but two fewer silver, 16, and Fok said he was proud of the “moments of creating history” he had witnessed.

“We are a small city with a small population, but I am very proud of the results we have had in the Games,” he said.

Despite the retirement of cyclist Yang Qianyu, who won the city’s first gold ever in the women’s road race, and the fact Haughey would be 28 years old by the time the next Asian Games take place – in Nagoya, Japan, in 2026 – Fok said the youth of some medal winners was an encouraging sign.

And he promised to ensure they had the best support possible in their bid to improve on the historic performance in Hangzhou, which easily surpassed the previous best medal haul of 46 in Jakarta five years ago.

“It’s obvious in recent games, that the number of sports in which we can win medals, go for medals and get great results has been growing, this is a recognition to our sports development and a witness to how much the government to put in for our sports development,” Fok said.

“I’d also like to praise our athletes for their efforts, and that they had demonstrated the best possible performances for us. I will seek to strengthen the support team for our sports teams when I return to Hong Kong, and professionalism in sports is not only about our athletes but also the team behind them.”

Highlighting the fact that Hong Kong had won medals in everything from swimming and fencing to bridge and esports, Fok said the two former, in which Siobhan Haughey and Cheung Ka-long again led the charge, were “surely our two favourite events”.

Pocketing six medals in all, Haughey won golds in her favoured 100m and 200m freestyle races, silver in the 50m event, bronze in 50m breaststroke, and two team bronzes, in the 4x100 freestyle and 4x100 individual medley relay.

Succeeding in events she did not usually compete in was “quite a revelation” and bode well for next year’s Paris Olympics.

“She is ever improving and is giving us some great hope,” Fok said.

Acknowledging that some sports were seeing a changing of the guard, such as cycling, from which Sarah Lee Wai-sze has retired and Yang is to do so, Fok pointed to the medal-winning performance of youngster Ceci Lee Sze-wing as grounds for optimism.

Fok also called Taichi Kho’s gold medal “an encouragement for the sport of golf”.

Those Hong Kong athletes still in mainland China were expected to attend Sunday’s closing ceremony before returning to the city the following day, where they will be met by government officials at the airport.