Asian Para Games: mayor sorry for ‘painful’ mistakes after playing wrong national anthems

Chinese table tennis star Sun Yingsha has warned fans against organising any birthday celebrations ahead of her turning 26 years old, calling on supporters to redirect their attention to the court. In recent years, supporters of prominent Chinese athletes have increasingly mirrored the entertainment industry’s so-called “fan circles” by organising lavish tributes, including commercial LED billboard campaigns in city centres, charity drives, offline promotional displays and drone light...

Hong Kong’s fencers have set their sights on the Los Angeles Paralympics after winning silver in the women’s foil team event at the Asian Para Games on Tuesday. Lam Ka-man, Yu Chui-yee, Tong Nga-ting and Chung Yuen-ping lost 30-12 to China in the final at the Nagoya City Inae Sports Centre, having come from behind to beat Thailand 30-23 in the semi-final. Despite the presence of veteran Yu, who also took women’s foil category A bronze on Monday, Hong Kong were always chasing gold and trailed...

Caspar Fownes is “very happy” with the start of his season and is looking to keep the winners rolling in with the likes of Love Together, Perfect General and Forza Toro at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. The champion trainer secured his fifth title last campaign and has slotted home nine winners so far this season, sitting fifth in the championship standings which are headed by Pierre Ng Pang-chi on 12 winners. Known as the ‘King of the Valley’, Fownes is taking his start at face value and is...

Inigo Calderon has called on local football chiefs to join him in “trying to do my part” to grow the game in Hong Kong. The Spaniard’s easy-on-the-eye Kitchee team delivered “probably the most complete” performance of his 15-month reign to embarrass Lee Man 5-1 on Monday, leaving him to conclude that it was a good time to say his piece because “we won and I’m not making excuses”. Unhappy with kick-off times and routinely poor playing surfaces, head coach Calderon said a 6.30pm start had aided...

Gianni Infantino’s campaign for re-election as Fifa president is set to move this week to Japan and a meeting scheduled for Wednesday with the Asian Football Confederation. This comes after Infantino apologised last week in Zurich, Switzerland, to Fifa’s 37-member ruling council – which he chairs – for “mistakes” he made in assembling a now-scrapped US$4.2 billion sell-off plan for the World Cup. The council is the main decision-making body at Fifa with a global spread of officials. The planned...

A charity football tournament in Hong Kong on Monday allowed some players a temporary release from the “quagmire, anxiety and stress” of their daily lives. The event at Kings Park was staged to raise funds and awareness for Branches of Hope (BoH), the non-governmental organisation that serves refugees, asylum seekers and human trafficking survivors in Hong Kong. Featuring 16 teams and around 250 players, the seven-a-side Home and Away Charity Football Tournament was expected to raise more than...

A charity football tournament in Hong Kong on Monday allowed some players a temporary release from the “quagmire, anxiety and stress” of their daily lives. The event at Kings Park was staged to raise funds and awareness for Branches of Hope (BoH), the non-governmental organisation that serves refugees, asylum seekers and human trafficking survivors in Hong Kong. Featuring 16 teams and around 250 players, the seven-a-side Home and Away Charity Football Tournament was expected to raise more than...

Rising Chinese basketball star Barry Wang Junjie was tipped to be an NBA prospect after he flourished in only his second game with his new team, the Massachusetts Minutemen, on Sunday. Wang erupted for 31 points on eight-of-12 shooting, including knocking down a pair of three-pointers and converting 12 of his 13 free throws, to go with six rebounds as the University of Massachusetts beat Brown University 88-86 in a tight exhibition game. The Massachusetts Minutemen represent the university in...

Rising Chinese basketball star Barry Wang Junjie was tipped to be an NBA prospect after he flourished in only his second game with his new team, the Massachusetts Minutemen, on Sunday. Wang erupted for 31 points on eight-of-12 shooting, including knocking down a pair of three-pointers and converting 12 of his 13 free throws, to go with six rebounds as the University of Massachusetts beat Brown University 88-86 in a tight exhibition game. The Massachusetts Minutemen represent the university in...

Long-suffering Philadelphia 76ers fans haven’t celebrated an NBA title in 43 years, but with newly arrived LeBron James headlining a star-studded team, they are daring to dream. “We never had a team like this,” enthuses Kairee Harvey, a 32-year-old police officer and diehard LeBron supporter. “I still can’t believe it,” the resident of neighbouring New Jersey said of the arrival of James in July. “I feel like I’m in a dream a little bit.” Suddenly, Harvey said, “I think that this will be our...

Long-suffering Philadelphia 76ers fans haven’t celebrated an NBA title in 43 years, but with newly arrived LeBron James headlining a star-studded team, they are daring to dream. “We never had a team like this,” enthuses Kairee Harvey, a 32-year-old police officer and diehard LeBron supporter. “I still can’t believe it,” the resident of neighbouring New Jersey said of the arrival of James in July. “I feel like I’m in a dream a little bit.” Suddenly, Harvey said, “I think that this will be our...

He has won more than 1,500 races and more than 50 Group Ones in an already decorated career, but James Cummings can now call himself an international winner after celebrating his first Hong Kong victory on Monday. The grandson of legendary Australian trainer Bart Cummings struck with his 12th runner in the city when Grand Eagle, owned by a syndicate headed by iconic Hong Kong handler John Moore, stormed home to upstage rising star Mr Incredible at Sha Tin. “My first international race win as a...