Hail HK Olympians!

The Hong Kong Olympic delegation came home from London on Tuesday. They were warmly received at the airport by their families, government officials and ordinary citizens. The SAR government held an elaborate reception in their honor on Wednesday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying presented them with certificates of merit.

Only one Hong Kong athlete brought home a bronze medal this time – cyclist Lee Wai-Sze finished third in the Women’s Keirin track race. Obviously this fell short of the gold medal won by windsurfer Lee Lai-shan in Atlanta and a silver medal each by table tennis players Ko Lai-chak and Li Ching in the men’s doubles final in Athens. Nevertheless, Hong Kong athletes’ performances in London were among the best, most moving and admirable we have seen from our team at the Olympic Games so far.

As far as results are concerned, badminton player Yip Pui-yin reached the women’s singles quarter finals, where she lost to the Chinese mainland girl who eventually won the gold medal; our table tennis players beat the Japanese squad to reach the men’s team quarter-finals and barely missed a bronze medal; four teenage sprinters from the same middle school qualified for a run in the men’s 4x100m relay heats and proved their capabilities in world-class competition even though they were more than a second behind those who reached the finals.

The fact is Hong Kong athletes generally did better this time than in previous Olympiads. That relates to the total number of competitors, the number of events entered and final placings with most in the middle or higher among finishers in the events. These factors tell us the city’s overall standard in competitive sports has risen to a new level, thanks to the emergence of a new crop of young talents.

Even more significant than their performances are the mental fortitude and fighting spirit of our athletes, which shone brightly in these Olympic Games. These qualities are the crystallization of what made Hong Kong the success story it is today, and the affirmation of those is more valuable than Olympic medals.

This is an excerpted translation of a Ta Kung Pao editorial published on Aug 15.