Hong Kong stands a chance of grabbing medals in four out of the 11 Olympic events that it will participate in, according to an article published in the August issue of the Bauhinia Magazine.

In the opinion of the writer Bo Luntai, table tennis players Li Ching and Ko Lai-chak will be able to bring Hong Kong medals despite strong opponents from the mainland, Sweden and Chinese Taipei.

Although this year's Olympics will be much more of a challenge to Li and Ko, Bo is convinced that the duo will be strongly motivated to win.

The Hong Kong table tennis team went to Xiamen earlier to undergo training with its mainland counterpart.

Badminton player Wang Chen, who was defeated in the last Olympics, is set to make a comeback.

She hopes to get an Olympic medal before she retires.

Wang, 32, has been performing well since she joined the Hong Kong team. She ranked first in the world in 2002, and defeated mainland's Xie Xingfang in the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. Last year, she won the second place at the BWF World Badminton Championships.

But Wang has her worries - injuries and strong competitors including Xie and Olympic gold medalist Zhang Ning.

Bo also has high hopes for cyclist Wong Kam-po.

Wong will be fighting for his first Olympic medal in Beijing. His winning will have a significant impact as cycling events are usually dominated by European athletes, including those from Germany, the Netherlands and Britain.

Wong has been performing well in recent years. He was the first Asian to have won the UCI Track Cycling World Championships.

According to Bo, Chan King-yin and Chan Wai-kei of the windsurfing team are also ready for Olympic medals even though the two are not as experienced as windsurfing queen Lee Lai-shan.

The two earlier received training in Qingdao, the host city of this year's Olympic windsurfing events.

Chan King-yin won a gold medal in the Doha Asian Games.

China Daily

(HK Edition 08/02/2008 page1)