Global Impact: China delivers at home Asian Games, Hong Kong also shines

Global Impact is a weekly curated newsletter featuring a news topic originating in China with a significant macro impact for our newsreaders around the world

In this issue, we look back at events at the Asian Games in Hangzhou, which included a series of firsts, including esports making its debut as a medal event

Reading Time:6 minutes

Published: 2:00pm, 9 Oct 2023

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The curtain will come down on the Asian Games on Sunday, bringing an end to what has been the most successful event for Hong Kong’s athletes, at the biggest regional gathering of athletes in history.

Nearly 12,000 competitors, more than will take part in next summer’s Olympics in Paris, and as many technical officials, media, support staff and others descended on Hangzhou, and by the time the final gold is awarded in karate, some 490 will have been won, more than 180 of them by the hosts.

Hong Kong’s total of 53 medals of varying colours looks minuscule by comparison, but then that is the same for most nations and territories when competing with China, and it is comfortably more than the previous best of 46 accumulated in Jakarta five years ago.

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A slew of firsts have marked the achievements of the city’s athletes at the 19th Asiad; first gold medals in women’s swimming from the indefatigable Siobhan Haughey, first gold in women’s road cycling courtesy of the retiring Yang Qianyu, whose story of sacrifice is just as impressive as her athletic endeavours, first medals in golf, a gold for Taichi Kho and bronze for his teammates in the men’s competition.

Hong Kong’s men’s football team also reached the semi-finals for the first time. Previously, the furthest a side had gone was the last eight, and that was at the 1958 Games in Tokyo.