HONG KONG: Yesterday's events yielded no golds for Hong Kong, but there were bronze and silver linings in the clouds of disappointment.

The local men's cycling team yesterday fought against the clock and clinched Hong Kong's first-ever team time-trial medal in multi-sports games.

The squad, with riders Wong Kam-po, Kwok Ho-ting, Tang Wang-yip and Yeung Ying-hon, finished the 80-kilometer race in 1 hour, 41 minutes and 36.73 seconds, trailing winner Japan and runner-up China, in the East Asian Games.

Shen Jinkang, the team coach, said it was the first time Hong Kong has secured a team time-trial medal in multi-sports events.

Previously, the city's best result in the men's team time trials was achieved in the 1987 Asian Cycling Championship, when the team snagged a silver medal, he said.

"The result was acceptable. We expected we would place third," said Shen, because, he added, "Hong Kong's team is relatively weak in this event."

He said the legs of team member Yeung suffered from cramps in the final loop, so the squad then decided not to accelerate and failed to surpass the Chinese team in the end.

Wong, the champion of the men's individual road race in the National Games in October and in the 2006 Doha Asian Games, said, "I think I did the worst among the four of us. I did not have a steady performance in the first 10 kilometers, unlike my usual pace."

He said it was partly because he had not participated in team time-trial events for a long time.

Yeung said they lacked practice as the team spent only about 20 days preparing for this event after last month's Tour of Hainan International Road Cycling Race.

Wong said the individual road race on Saturday is challenging but he retains his confidence in his team.

Good news also came from the men's five-member tenpin bowling squad yesterday, which brought home a silver for Hong Kong.

In the pool, the women's team finished third in the women's 4X100-meter medley relay, while 20-year-old aquatic marvel Hannah Wilson also grabbed a bronze in the women's 50-meter freestyle.

With the close of swimming events yesterday, Wilson has surely become the biggest winner in the Hong Kong aquatic team with her haul of six medals.

In the women's 100-kilometer individual road race, local rider Jamie Wong Wan-yiu placed a disappointing eighth.

"I am quite disappointed. I have drilled so hard for this competition. Earlier on, I wished I could have an edge, since it was held in Hong Kong. It is a pity that I could not catch up in the end," said Wong.

She said in the past, the Japan and Republic of Korea teams didn't launch a breakaway so fast. "To my surprise, they changed their tactics this time. It made me anxious in the contest. I felt that I would be doomed," she said.

On the first day of the athletics events, Hong Kong sprinters Leung Ki-ho and Tang Yik-chun finished sixth and eighth respectively in the men's 200-meter race.

With 52 medals, Hong Kong has held on to its fourth place in the rankings.

(HK Edition 12/11/2009 page1)