The 16th Asian Games, a great event in the world of sport held every four year, took place in Guangzhou from 12th to 27th of November 2010. There were over 10,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions taking part in the Games this year. Out of a total of 42 sports in the Asian Games, Macao has sent its sports delegation of 245 athletes and officials to take part in 19 sports including: Aquatic Sports (Swimming, Diving, Synchronized Swimming), Athletics, Badminton, Bowling, Boxing, Canoe/ Kayak, Cycling Road, DanceSport, Dragon Boat, Golf, Judo, Karate, Shooting, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Triathlon, Weightlifting, Wushu (Sanshou, Taolu) and Chess (Xiangqi).
On 14th of November, the Macao sports delegation competed in several events, among those the focus was on the Wushu Men’s daoshu\gunshu all-round event, which Macao was represented by athlete Jia Rui. In the morning daoshu session, with a steady performance, Jia Rui took the lead with 9.81 points and laid the foundation for winning the game. In the gunshu session in the afternoon, Jia Rui once again executed his routine with a brilliant performance and in a fast tempo, gained 9.80 points. With a total score of 19.61, Jia Rui successfully defeated competitors from Korea and Myanmar and clinched the gold medal of the event. This win is the first gold medal of Macao since its first participation in the 1st Asian Games in 1990, over 20 years ago. It represents a historical breakthrough and wrote a glory new page in the Macao’s history of the Asian Games, fulfilling a long awaited dream.
At the finals of the men’s sanshou 70kg which took place on 17th November, Cai Liangchan was unfazed by his strong opponent, he fought his hardest and won a silver medal for Macao.
On 24th November, the karate athletes Cheung Pui Si and Lei Kuong Cheong beat their rivals and won a bronze medal in the women’s individual and men’s +84 kg respectively.
November 25th is the second competition day for the karate team. Paula Cristina Pereira Carion , who competed in the women’s +68 kg in the morning, managed to enter the repechage match for the second runner-up. She continued to raise her level of play and finally posted a 7:4 victory over her Kazakh opponent, grabbing another bronze medal for Macao.
On 26th of November, diver Choi Sut Ian accomplished her most difficult dive of 305B (reverse 2 1/2 somersaults pike), in the fourth dive in the women’s 3m Springboard and with a steady and beautifully executed dive successfully raised her ranking to third, adding one more valuable bronze medal for the delegation. It was also Macao’s first medal ever won in the diving event of the Asian Games.
Apart from the above mentioned, the Macao sports delegation has also achieved good results in other events:
In Triathlon Hoi Long, competed with strong contestants from China, Japan, Korea and other countries, ranked fourth in the women’s individual event. In athletics Iong Kim Fai broke Macao’s record for the Men’s 110 hurdles with 14.78 seconds. The Macao delegation also took part in several other wushu events: selected from the youth training program, athletes Chu Chi Wai and Ho Si Hang, both put in a very solid performance and were both placed fourth in the men’s changquan and the women’s taijiquan/ taijijian all-round respectively, narrowly missed the medals. Their teammate Wu Nok In, Iao Chon In and Lei Weng Si ranked sixth in the men’s changquan, seventh in the men’s taijiquan/ taijijian all-round and seventh in the women’s changquan respectively. In aquatic sports, Choi Sut Ian and Lo I Teng were placed fourth in the women’s synchronized 3m springboard and sixth in the women’s synchronized 10m platform. Lei Sio I ranked sixth in the women’s 3m springboard and Choi Sut Ian gained the fifth position in the women’s 1m springboard. The synchronized swimming team with their harmonious cooperation and elegant postures gained fourth place in the combination and fifth place in the team. Au Ieong Sin Ieng partnered Cheong Ka Ieng in the duet and they were placed at eighth of the total rank. When it comes to swimming, Lei On Kei was placed ninth in the Women’s 100m breaststroke and created a new Macao record. In other sports, Macao’s dragon boat team ranked tenth and fifth in the men’s 250m straight race and the women’s 250m straight race respectively. The female bowling team comprised by Weng Sam Chan, Sou Keng Julia Lam, Tong Hui, Kit Fan Filomena Choi and In Cheng Un took part in the women’s team of five and finished at tenth. Lei Kam Fun was placed eighth in the Chinese chess (xiangqi). Che Seak Hong completed the 10m air pistol with a new record of Macao. Fong Wai Kin and U Mei Kok ranked seventh in the Latin-Cha-Cha-Cha and the Jive of DanceSport.
After over 10 days of thrilling and exciting competitions, the 16th Asian Games closed its curtain with a huge success. The Macao sports delegation has also achieved an abundant harvest of 1 gold, 1 silver and 4 bronze medals. It has realized the breakthrough of gold medal in the Games. Through the Asian Games, members of the Macao delegation were given the opportunity to share competition experiences with athletes from other countries and building new friendships in the process.
On 18th November, the Macao Wushu Team with their two athletes Jia Rui, Macao’s first gold medalist in the Wushu daoshu/gunshu event and Sanshou silver medalist Cai Liangchan, made their triumphant return to Macao via the Border Gate. They were welcomed and greeted with thunderous applause and congratulations from the guests and cheerleaders. They then joined in the car parade led by a group of Harley motorcycles and passed through the main roads in Macao; they were greeted by warm cheers from the residents along the route. Afterwards, the whole team had group photos taken outside the Governor House and attended a gala night organized by Macao Sport Development Board. Chui Sai On, Chief Executive of Macao, and Cheong U, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture were present to express their congratulations to the Macao wushu team for their excellent performance and results in the Asian Games and joined in the celebration.
Other guests attended the gala night included Zhang Xiaoguang, Deputy Director of Cultural and Educational Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macao SAR, Han Xiaoyan, Deputy Director-General of Policy Research Department of Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Macao SAR, Jia Bing, Deputy Director-General of Department of Personnel of General Administration of Sport of China, Vong Iao Lek, President of Macao Sport Development Board, José Maria da Fonseca Tavares and Pun Weng Kun, Vice-Presidents of Macao Sport Development Board, Lo Keng Chio, President of Sports and Olympic Committee of Macao, Chan Chak Mo, Secretary General of Sports and Olympic Committee of Macao, China, Chan Wing Kit, Chef de Mission of the Macao Sports Delegation, members of the sports commission and representatives of various sports associations, etc.
