Elena Bulatova presents artwork at the Auction for the Black & White Ball

What was meant to be a few glorious moments could spark policy reform in South Korea after post-match comments from a couple of gold-medal-winning footballers triggered heated debate. South Korea beat hosts Japan 1-0 at the Toyota Stadium to win their fourth straight – and seventh overall – men’s football title at the Asian Games, leading to 20 of the 23-strong squad earning exemptions from military service. While the exemption was not an exclusive perk for the country’s footballers but for all...

David Hayes would be more than happy to see a rain-affected Randwick track for superstar Ka Ying Rising’s important trial to “dispel that rumour that he doesn’t go on the wet”. The world’s highest-rated galloper headlines a seven-horse field for Tuesday’s 1,000m trial, which will serve as a key hit-out in preparation for the champion’s defence of his Group One The Everest (1,200m) crown on October 17. Heavy rain lashed Sydney on Saturday and while conditions are expected to clear in the lead-up...

The curtain came down on the Asian Games on Sunday, with officials hoping the fortnight in Japan would be remembered not for the chaos dogging every step but for the athletic performances that brought more than 150 world, junior and continental records. In keeping with the overall approach of the Games, the closing ceremony was a strange affair, one that felt a little like adults trying to be cool in a room full of teenagers. The fact it took place in front of rows and rows of empty seats at a...

Patience was indeed a virtue for trainer Frankie Lor Fu-chuen after quirky pair Horsepower and Mr Cool snapped huge 529 and 546-day losing streaks respectively at Sha Tin on Sunday. Horsepower had last tasted success way back in April last year, but it was not for a lack of trying. In 12 runs since that win, he had finished second on three occasions, and put the writing on the wall with a half-length fourth at Happy Valley on reappearance. The Harry Angel galloper was sent off an unconsidered...

In the third instalment of a four-part Health Matters series on traditional Chinese medicine, Aidyn Fitzpatrick speaks to a Hong Kong fencer studying TCM and local practitioners to see how athletes, both elite and amateur, are using TCM alongside Western medicine for smarter injury recovery. Fresh off helping Hong Kong clinch a bronze medal in the women’s foil team event at the 2026 Asian Games in Japan, fencer Janelle Leung Ya-lei – ranked 53rd in the world – knows the fine margin between peak...

When Cado Lee Ka-to carried Hong Kong’s flag into the Paloma Mizuho Stadium on Sunday, he did so at the head of what remained of the most successful Asian Games delegation in the city’s history. While only a handful of the 580 athletes who made up the team attended the closing ceremony, their impact will be felt far beyond the past fortnight, although it may be in what wasn’t achieved that a lasting legacy is created. At first glance, an overall medal count of 54, only one more than the previous...

Japan is traditionally seen as a reliable host for major sporting events but an Asian Games dogged by organisational woes has tarnished that image and raised questions over future bids, experts say. The Games in Aichi-Nagoya saw a catalogue of mishaps, from athletes bused to the wrong venues to the North Korean national anthem played for the South Korean hockey team. There were not enough beds for the over 17,000 athletes and officials, a bigger number than the Olympics. Countries complained of...

There has been a common theme running through Hong Kong’s Asian Games gold medallists when it comes to talking about the pressure of being on top: Siobhan Haughey and James Christie both referred to it as a privilege, and it would not be a surprise to discover it is an entirely alien concept to Coleman Wong Chak-lam. Before Saturday, Hong Kong had never won a medal in men’s tennis at the Games, let alone gold. Faced with making history, adding another title to the city’s growing collection and...

More than 30,000 Hong Kong fans gave Gianni Infantino their raucous verdict on his leadership of world football on Saturday, before and after watching the city team beat Cambodia 2-0 to be crowned inaugural Fifa Asean Challenge Cup champions. Infantino, the Fifa president, was lustily booed when he delivered the trophy to the pitch alongside local football association president Pui Kwan-kay before kick-off. When he returned to present the spoils to Hong Kong, the stadium PA was raised to an...

Jay Rooney GRAND PATCH - R6 (2) Had plenty of excuses first up and looks well placed to atone here   Owen Goulding HELENE SUPAFEELING - R11 (1) Trialled well leading in, has drawn a good gate and will get a strong gallop to chase   Paul Lally CONGHUA GALAXY - R10 (9) Terrific third on his local debut up the straight and should strip fitter   Phillip Woo GRAND PATCH - R6 (2) Resumed a badly held-up fourth and has since won a trial   Trackwork Spy SOLID STATE - R11 (2) Looks far better placed back...

There are very few certainties in life, although Hong Kong’s men winning rugby sevens gold at the Asian Games could well be one of them. A 26-0 win over China on Saturday sealed a third consecutive title for the city’s team at the Games, and it is now 12 years since they last lost a match at the multi-sport event. Their mainland opponents had already been beaten 22-0 in a Pool A game on Friday, and a first-half double from Harry Sayers ended any threat of an upset. Bryn Phillips added a third,...

Jamie Richards thinks an inside draw could actually help rather than hinder Lahore as he goes for a straight-track hat-trick in the Class Three Shing Mun Handicap (1,000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. The son of Hellbent has had his share of issues, requiring throat surgery in July 2025 and then bleeding from both nostrils in February of this year, but he roared back to life when returning in May, decimating a Class Four field by two and a half lengths. He backed that up with a gutsy success from a...