The 18th Asian Games was held from August 18 to September 2 in Jakarta City and Palembang City, Indonesia. A total number of 40 competitive events were conducted in this year's Asian Games. Since its first participation in 1990, this year marked the 8th time that Macao participated in the Asian Games. A delegation composed of 165 athletes was organized to compete in 16 events, including water sports events (swimming, diving and artistic swimming), athletics, badminton, bowling, boxing, canoeing (still water), cycling (roads and tracks), fencing, golf, judo, karate (kumite and kata), squash, table tennis, taekwondo (boxing and pumsae), triathlon, and martial arts (taolu, sanda). The leader of the Macao sports delegation was the president of the Sports Bureau Pun Weng Kun, with Chui Sai Kin as the deputy leader.
The summary of the results achieved this year is as follows: Huang Jun Hua, a wushu athlete of the Macao sports delegation, won the championship in the men's overall southern fist and southern cudgel event, historically winning the second gold medal in the Asian Games for Macao in the sports field. Li Yi, who had won a silver in the previous Asian Games held in Incheon, made another achievement by securing the silver medal in the women's long fist event this year. The karate athlete Sou Soi Lam was awarded a silver in the women's individual kata event, and Wong Sok I won a bronze in the women's 55 kg class kumite event. Hoi Long did her utmost and won a bronze in the women's individual triathlon. In total, the Macao sports delegation obtained 1 gold, 2 silvers and 2 bronzes, achieving a brilliant result. Pun Weng Kun, the leader of the delegation, affirmed and appreciated the athletes' fighting spirit, saying, “They deserve the support and encouragement from all Macao residents and individuals from different sectors of society.
In terms of the rest of the events, the swimming team broke records 14 times in total and setting 12 Macao records in the Asian Games this year. In particular, Chao Man Hou proceeded to the final in the men's 200-meter breaststroke and 50-meter breaststroke successively, becoming the first best male swimmer from Macao. He broke the Macao records in all the seven events in which he had participated. The best female athlete Loi Im Lan achieved the result of 24 seconds 73 milliseconds in the 200-meter sprint event, breaking the Macao record that she had set before by a margin of 0.09 seconds. There was also a surprising result achieved by the bowling team. Wong Son Ian, a 16-year-old new star, made a breakthrough under the new system implemented in the Asian Games this year and became the only contestant in the team proceeding to the elite matches. In addition, another two young wushu athletes, Song Chi Kuan and Sou Cho Man, completed the matches and ranked 4th.
The delegation achieved a brilliant result. The leader of the delegation Pun Weng Kun pointed out in his summary that through the Asian Games this year, the Macao sports sector was further aware that other countries or regions in Asia kept improving rapidly in competitiveness. People from other places could also know Macao athletes better. Although the Asian Games was concluded, this also means that Macao has entered a new stage in sports. The Sports Bureau has actively communicated with the sports associations responsible for different types of sports, and formulated plans for future development and directions from a new starting point.
The president of the Sports and Olympic Committee of Macau, China Lo Keng Chio, who accompanied the delegation, stated that Macao athletes had made their full effort to compete. To prepare for competing in the Asian Games, they strove beyond their limit. Devoting their sweat and toil in the arena, they achieved inspiring results, which were beyond expectations. Meanwhile, he also encouraged all the athletes to keep working hard.
