Hong Kong's First Medal in Swimming

Haughey clinches silver in HK's first ever medal in swimming

 

This morning Hong Kong was collectively holding its breath as local swimmer Siobhan Haughey swam the women's 200m freestyle final.

She burst out of the pack early on and led the race until the last 50 metres she was edged out by Australian Ariarne Titmus. 

Haughey (left) led most of the race in 200 free

The 23-year-old Haughey, half Hong Kong Chinese and half Irish also set the new Asian record at 1.53.92 and a silver medal -- making this Olympic games the best ever showing for the city.

"I hope Cheung Ka-long and my performances this Olympics can motivate fellow Hong Kong athletes competing in the games, they can do it. And also the athletes watching at home in Hong Kong -- keep training, because it will be your turn soon," she said in a post-race interview.

"I hope everyone can continue to support Hong Kong athletes. The competitions may be over in a few minutes' time, with a lucky few being able to enjoy the 'glory moments', but what people cannot see are the effort and hard work committed by them," she stressed.

She also thanked her coaches and parents for their support which allowed her to achieve what she could today.

This evening she cruised into the semi-finals of the women's 100 freestyle setting another Asian record at 52.70 and will compete in the final tomorrow morning.

Ng wore a plain black T-shirt in his first match

However, badminton Olympic hopeful Angus Ng Ka-long was knocked out today after being beaten by Guatemalan shuttler Kevin Cordon.

Ng got into a lot of controversy after his first match a few days ago when he wore a black Lululemon T-shirt that met Olympic regulations, but did not have a bauhinia emblem on it critics felt this associated Ng with the 2019 protests when the protesters wore black clothes.

Pro-Beijing lawmaker Nicholas Muk wrote on social media that Ng should withdraw from the games if he did not want to represent Hong Kong. 

After his match, Ng took to Instagram to explain he currently did not have a sponsor and so he was now a free agent and felt comfortable wearing this T-shirt.

Eventually the Hong Kong Badminton Association took the blame for the incident and sorted out Ng's uniform for the next match. 

Criticism caused Ng to change shirts... and lose?

But it seems the damage was done and Ng is now out of the Olympics.

Muk finally said he felt sorry for using "slightly strong words" on Facebook, but did not apologize to the 27-year-old Ng for possibly affecting his performance today.

While the T-shirt debacle was a distraction, it can really ruin an athlete's focus and self-confidence. Muk of the DAB may be trying to win brownie points with Beijing, but really, this is not the time or place to do such a thing. 

Hong Kong athletes need all the support they can get, and condemning them for their outfits is the last thing they want to hear.

 

Lin Dan Threatens to Sue for Wages

Lin Dan publicly revealed he and six players have not been paid for months

It was shocking to read today that badminton superstar Lin Dan had to resort to social media to complain that he and his fellow players on his team have not been paid 4 million yuan in over five months.

He and six other players competed in the lucrative China Badminton Super League, the prime national team competition for badminton players on the mainland. It was held from December 6, 2016 to January 14th this year and is run by the China Badminton Association.

On Weibo, Lin complained to his three million followers that his team Guangzhou Yueyu had yet to pay them.

"It is chilling that so far all the athletes have not received salaries. We athletes in order not to affect the collective honour, still insisted on completing matches despite not being paid.

"We have communicated many times with the club to pay the salaries and so far their attitude is really frustrating and disappointing. For the club to win honour while we get nothing, please do not let our sweat flow white!

Lin was in hot water when he wasn't seen with his wife (left)

"We solemnly declare that the Guangzhou Yueyu Badminton Club's Mr Gao Jun and Mr Fu Xun respect the athletes and pay the full salaries... or we will take legal means to defend our rights and interests!"

Apparently Guangzhou's chairman Gao said even he himself was owed wages, and that he would rush to the city of Heyuan in Guangdong province, where the club's main sponsors are based, to have the wage matter settled as soon as possible.

While Lin is a very popular athlete, his image took a big hit when he was photographed with another woman while his wife Xie Xingfan was pregnant. The couple reconciled and his wife also took to social media, asking that the athletes be paid.

It turns out the club is registered in the national league under the name Heyuan Agricultural and Commercial Bank Guangzhou Team, and Gao said the bank was one of the club's major sponsors but had yet to pay up.

"This incident has nothing to do with Yueyu," says Gao. "We have been made scapegoats."

So will Lin and his fellow players be paid eventually? Does the bank have enough funds? Sounds strange for it to not pay the athletes... or is their money stuck in some soured loan no one is supposed to know about?