HK athletes bring home gold
Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah (fifth right) and Director of Leisure & Cultural Services Michelle Li (second right) greet the delegation members at the airport.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam today congratulated Hong Kong athletes on achieving the best ever results at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Indonesia.
Mrs Lam praised their distinguished performance and sportsmanship.
The Hong Kong team won a record-breaking total of 48 medals, comprising 11 gold, 16 silver, and 21 bronze medals.
Breakthroughs were achieved in some areas including winning the gold medal for the first time in boccia and breaking the Asian Para Games record and the Asian record in swimming.
"Since my tenure as the Director of Social Welfare, I have been supporting the participation by persons with disabilities in sports to demonstrate their talents.
“In this Asian Para Games, athletes of the Hong Kong team, as in the past, fought hard and persevered in competitions. They have earned the admiration of all Hong Kong people and made us proud," Mrs Lam said.
She said the Government will continue to allocate resources to support sports development for people with disabilities.
The Government hosted a Welcome Home Ceremony at the Hong Kong International Airport to greet the Hong Kong athletes on their return from the games.
Speaking at the ceremony, Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah commended the athletes for their outstanding performance following prolonged arduous training.
"The Government has implemented the recommendation of the consultancy study on 'Sport for People with Disabilities in Hong Kong' to provide full-time training opportunities to athletes with disabilities.
“With the subsequent implementation of the Pilot Scheme for Elite Vote Support System for Disability Sports, athletes with disabilities will be able to receive more systematic support to enhance the quality of their training so as to achieve breakthrough results," he said.
The games were held from October 6 to 13 in Jakarta.
A total of 101 Hong Kong athletes took part in 10 events at the games, comprising archery, athletics, badminton, boccia, lawn bowls, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tenpin bowling and wheelchair fencing.