Hong Kong’s bruising WXV Challenger part of journey to becoming ‘force on world stage’

China’s Wang Manyu beat compatriot and defending champion Sun Yingsha in the women’s singles final at the Asian Games on Sunday to cement her position as the sport’s new table tennis queen. Wang’s win came days after she displaced Sun at the top of the world rankings. China also enjoyed success in the men’s doubles final, with Huang Youzheng and Lin Shidong beating Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto and Hiroto Shinozuka 4-2. Wang reclaimed the title she last won at the Jakarta Asian Games in 2018,...

China’s 15-year-old Zhu Yuanling won gold in the women’s street skateboarding competition at the Asian Games on Sunday, the latest in a series of young winners at this edition of the continental multi-sport event. Zhu’s win came a day after Japanese primary school student Yuki Kurihara, 11, demolished opponents three times his age on the way to a historic gold in esports. Earlier in the Games, Chinese swimmer Yu Zidi, 13, became one of the faces of the event with three golds, all in record...

Apprentice Nichola Yuen Hang-yiu continued a season full of milestones with her first Hong Kong treble at Sha Tin on Sunday which saw her claim reduced to 7lb. Perhaps fittingly, she claimed both accolades by edging out Zac Purton with a masterful ride to get Aeroinvincible from pillar to post in the Class Three Kestrel Handicap (1,400m). “It was a very tight finish, I thought I lost the race. I was riding against Zac Purton again and I beat him again, sorry not sorry,” Yuen joked. “Quite a few...

Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) hero Invincible Ibis exceeded trainer Mark Newnham’s expectations on his return to record a thrilling victory in the Group Three Celebration Cup (1,400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday. Handing Newnham and jockey Luke Ferraris back-to-back wins in the HK$4.2 million feature, Invincible Ibis ran on strongly from midfield and held off a late burst from Galaxy Patch to score by a neck. The son of Hellbent made a statement in his return from last season, which saw him claim Champion...

The honour of winning Hong Kong’s fifth gold medal of the Asian Games fell to squash pair Lee Ka-yi and Tang Ming-hong on Sunday, and while it did not come with a place at the Los Angeles Olympics, it left the former feeling “amazing” and her partner “completely empty”. There was silver too, of course, with the final at Nagoya Kinjo-Futo Arena a clash against close friends and Hong Kong teammates Toby Tse Yee-lam and Lai Cheuk-nam. Another fencing bronze was added to the city’s growing tally,...

Vladica Grujic skirted the question over why he wanted to remain Laos head coach after the dismal fallout from their recent Asean Championship campaign, but the inquiry was valid. The opponents for Hong Kong’s opening Fifa Asean Cup match at Kai Tak Stadium on Sunday, Laos made wholesale changes for the tournament after the country’s football federation called for an investigation into alleged match-fixing, bribery and illegal gambling among its own squad following a series of heavy Asean...

Jay Rooney CIRCUIT CHAMPION - R11 (6) Was brave in defeat on return and should get a smoother run here   Owen Goulding THUNDER PRINCE - R4 (9) Huge run from woeful draw last start, now drawn better and will be rock-hard fit   Paul Lally CIRCUIT CHAMPION - R11 (6) Didn't have the race run to suit last start and looks well placed to atone   Phillip Woo BRIGHT MORTAR - R5 (6) Should go one better on preferred dirt surface after resuming second on turf   Trackwork Spy PACKING FIGHTER - R9...

Zhang Ziyu played a starring role to drag China to women’s basketball bronze at the Asian Games on Saturday, with her coach predicting the teenager standing 2.2 metres (7-foot-3) will one day be “invincible”. The 19-year-old is already taller than NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal and she made full use of her advantage as China beat Chinese Taipei 77-64 in the third-place match in Nagoya. Zhang has made a name for herself in recent weeks, impressing American superstar Caitlin Clark at the Women’s...

North Korea’s weightlifters will flex their considerable collective muscle when they return to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years at Los Angeles in 2028 – and they could be in for an American gold rush if the Asian Games are any indication. The secretive nation has been the dominant force in global weightlifting since emerging from self-imposed Covid exile to smash six world records at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023. They also won six golds. At the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in Japan...

Tennis legend Billie Jean King and two former professionals acknowledged modern players are suffering from burnout, but believed any change would be affected by the differing needs of elite players and rest, and the commercial pressure of tournaments. At present, WTA rules say players ranked in the top 30 must compete in all grand slams and ten WTA 1000 tournaments, and skipping these events results in ranking penalties and heavy financial fines that directly damage world standings and core...

Karis Teetan is confident Galaxy Patch can replicate his stable debut for Brett Crawford late last season and figure prominently when he returns in Sunday’s Group Three Celebration Cup (1,400m) at Sha Tin. A multiple Group winner and Group One placegetter for Pierre Ng Pang-chi, Galaxy Patch made an impressive first appearance for Crawford in the Group Three Premier Cup (1,400m) in June when he stormed home for a close second to Little Paradise. There is a 4lb swing on that race in favour of...

The battle for mixed doubles gold in squash will be an all-Hong Kong affair at the Asian Games on Sunday, after the city’s duos both won their semi-finals on a day when the city’s athletes picked up another three bronze medals and some semblance of normality returned to table tennis. With swimming finally over at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre, it was the turn of the divers to take centre stage, and to the surprise of absolutely no one, China won the two gold medals on offer on Saturday, the first of...