HONG KONG -- Paris 2024 gold medalist fencer Vivian Kong Man Wai of Hong Kong, China announced her retirement from professional fencing, bidding farewell to her career as a full-time athlete.

"I'm so grateful to have had the chance to dedicate almost 20 years of my life to fencing and thank you for being a part of this journey," she wrote in a social media post.

The 30-year-old made history at the Paris Olympics Games, clinching a gold medal in the individual epee event for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region after a hard-won victory.

"After competing in my third Olympics, I have decided to take a break from professional fencing. I want to learn, grow, and give back to Hong Kong to the best of my abilities," Vivian said.

Kong said she's going to start a new career and launch her own charity to help kids find joy in sports.

"I will miss my fencing family so so much, but once a fencer, always a fencer," she wrote.

The social media accounts of all four Grand Slam tennis tournaments - the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open - posted congratulations to Zheng Qinwen, who became the first Asian player to win the women's singles gold at the Olympics.

At Roland Garros, Zheng defeated Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-2, 6-3 to seize the women's singles gold, which is China's second Olympic tennis gold, following Li Ting and Sun Tiantian's crown in the women's doubles at Athens 2004.

PARIS -- Dominika Cibulkova, Kevin Anderson, Mark Philippoussis, Todd Martin, Greg Rusedski, Eugenie Bouchard, Mardy Fish: the history of tennis is littered with the names of the nearly men and women who reached Grand Slam and Olympic finals but never broke through to take that final step to the top.

Perhaps the legacy of Zheng Qinwen could have been a member of that group after she lost seven months ago in the Australian Open final.

The straight-set loss to Aryna Sabalenka could have done irreparable damage to many players without Zheng's mental fortitude. A disappointing loss to unseeded Elina Avanesyan in the French Open in May and an embarrassing defeat to qualifier Lulu Sun at Wimbledon last month led many to worry that Zheng's Australian Open run was simply a flash in the pan.

Yet, here in August, back at Roland Garros, it's Zheng who sits atop the podium.

Her gold, which follows a tournament where the Chinese player had to display immense grit, determination, and endurance just to reach the final, represents the pinnacle of her career so far, as well as the pinnacle of Asian and Chinese women's Olympic tennis.

At 21, the gold could perhaps be the first of many medals for her at the Olympics, or it could be her last. However, one thing is for sure: the gold, and the inspiration that it will provide to young girls and boys back in her homeland, won't be the last for China.

"I want to tell them to be brave and dream big. Achieving dreams requires setting goals, but the journey will have its hardships, doubts, and sacrifices. Enjoy the process because every failure is a step towards success. Standing where I am today, I can say that all the effort is worth it," Zheng said, speaking directly to young tennis fans staying up late in China to watch her matches.

"Since I was a child, you can have a lot of inspiration on me and I always want to become one of the agents that I can inspire all the young kids to make them want more tennis."

Despite only being at the start of her career, Zheng understands the importance of her role, not just to win matches and tournaments, but also to inspire the next generation.

More than a decade on from Li Na's heroics at the same venue in the French Open, Chinese fans now have a new star to look up to. While the Olympics may not rank as highly for some tennis fans when compared to the Grand Slams, for many Chinese fans - including Zheng's father - the Olympics remains the peak.

"I know he always treats the Olympic Games more important than any of the Slams. I think all the Chinese fans are the same, including me, as you can see.

"Since I was 10, my father always talked about Grand Slams and the Olympics. I know the Olympics mean more to him than a Grand Slam. In 2022, I mentioned in an interview that I was looking forward to the 2024 Olympics. But I also knew high expectations could lead to disappointment," Zheng admitted. "This Olympics has been a rollercoaster for me, with unprecedented pressure and tension.

"I felt like I represented all of Chinese tennis, knowing the Chinese people were cheering for me. Winning the gold made all the hard work and struggles worthwhile."

PARIS -- Saint Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred secured her country's first ever Olympic gold medal by winning the women's 100m final at the Paris Games on Saturday.

The 23-year-old crossed the line in 10.72 seconds, ahead of American Sha'Carri Richardson, who claimed silver in 10.87.

Melissa Jefferson, also of the United States, took bronze in 10.92.

A century after the last Summer Olympics in France, the world’s premier sports event returns with great fanfare, now significantly supported by Chinese technology and people.

Over the past three weeks, China Daily has explored the Chinese contributions underpinning the Paris Olympics, from volunteers like Liu Xinyi and Zheng Jiaxin to high-tech innovations showcased by Alibaba and Taishan Sports.

We watch traditional Hanfu celebrations and meet influential figures like Charles Leung of Chaumet, whose company designed the Olympic medals.
Join us as we witness first-hand how China is playing an important role in making the Paris Olympics a spectacular success.

(Video:DJ Clark Reporter: Wang Mingjie )

China's women's ace Zheng Qinwen has etched her name in tennis history after winning the country's first singles Olympic gold medal in Paris on Saturday, fueling her meteoric career rise with another major accolade.

China's world No 7 Zheng was the sixth seed in the 64-draw Olympic tournament. She lived up to her favorite status in the final against Croatia's 13th seed Donna Vekic at the Roland Garros Stadium, breaking her 21st-ranked opponent four times while conceding only one of her service games to prevail 6-2, 6-3 at the iconic site of the red-clay Grand Slam to win the gold medal.

It was only China's second Olympic gold medal in tennis, following a women's doubles title won by Li Ting and Sun Tiantian at Athens 2004, and the first in singles.

After securing the win with a forehand winner down the line, Zheng lay down on her back to rousing cheers across the Court Philippe-Chatrier, soaking up the historic moment for her own career and for the sport's profile in China.

It was the second Olympic tennis medal won by the Chinese delegation in Paris, after mixed doubles pair Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu claimed a silver medal in Friday's final, which was won by Czech team Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac at the same venue.

"Nothing can describe my feeling right now, it's unreal. I've always been hoping to get a medal for China. Finally I made it," an emotional Zheng said during the on-court interview.

"I did everything I could. I think my country will be proud of me, I feel proud of myself. The success is for all my team members, my families and whoever supported me, not just for me.

"I just fought every single match, there were two matches that I almost lost on my way to the final, especially 0-4 down in the second set against Iga (Swiatek) in the semis. I feel the energy of all the support knowing that I play for my country. I just never gave up and tried to find every single solution," Zheng said of her tough path to success.

And for the celebration? The 21-year-old native of Hubei province just wants to join her family and enjoy some home cuisine.

"I haven't thought about it yet. For sure to eat some Chinese food, after having eaten chicken and rice every day here, nothing much of flavor," she said with a grin.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn

PARIS -- China's top-seeded pair Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan clinched the badminton women's doubles gold medal at the Paris Olympics after beating their compatriots Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning 22-20, 21-15 in the final on Saturday.

The opening set saw a fierce contest, with Liu and Tan securing four set points before Chen and Jia staged a comeback, winning six consecutive points to claim the set 22-20. In the second set, Chen and Jia dominated the court, ultimately securing victory with a score of 21-15.

Earlier on Saturday, Japan's Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida captured the bronze medal, overpowering Malaysia's Pearly Tan and Muralitharan Thinaah 21-11, 21-11.

In women's singles action, South Korea's top seed An Se-young triumphed over Japan's Akane Yamaguchi in the quarterfinal, despite dropping the first game. An expressed hope of maintaining her strong form ahead of the final, where she will face Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in the semifinal.

Meanwhile, 2016 Rio Olympics champion Carolina Marin dispatched Japan's Aya Ohori in straight sets. Marin is set to compete for a spot in the semifinal against China's sixth seed He Bingjiao on Sunday, who advanced by defeating her compatriot, Tokyo Olympics gold medalist and second seed Chen Yufei, with scores of 21-16, 21-17.

PARIS -- China's Chen Meng defended her Olympic crown in the table tennis women's singles after defeating world No 1 Sun Yingsha 4-2 in the final at the Paris Olympics on Saturday.

Chen, 30, second seed in the event, outclassed compatriot Sun 4-11, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6 at the South Paris Arena 4.

It's the second straight Chen-Sun singles final showdown on the Olympic stage. At Tokyo 2020, Chen overcame Sun to claim the Olympic title, also in six sets.

"I knew it would be extremely challenging. In the past three years, my matches with Sun were tough. Today, I had a mindset of giving my all and fighting to the end," Chen said after the match.

Chen believed that there were no losers in the final match. "Because we secured both the gold and silver for China. This match upholds the honor of Chinese table tennis. The applause should be for both of us," she said.

The 30-year-old also revealed that she faced many difficulties in the past several years, including her competitive form and injuries. "Given my age and the uncertainty of future opportunities, I deeply cherished this chance to showcase the strength of the Chinese team on this grand stage of the Olympics," she added.

Sun, who took gold in the mixed doubles partnering Wang Chuqin on Tuesday, gave high praise to her opponent, "She [Chen] didn't waver today, but I did, especially in the fifth set. I didn't hold on until the end."

"At the next Games in Los Angeles, I'll try once more and fight for the women's singles gold again," the 23-year-old noted.

Earlier on Saturday, Hina Hayata of Japan claimed the bronze medal after beating Shin Yu-bin of South Korea 4-2.

So close, so tough and so proud — China's tennis aces Zhang Zhizhen and Wang Xinyu have served the sport's momentum in their country with an extra boost, winning a mixed doubles Olympic medal in Paris.

After battling through four matches all into the 10-point third-set decider, Zhang and Wang had to settle with a second place on the podium but seemed as proud as the winners — Czech duo Katerina Siniakova and Tomas Machac — after their mixed doubles gold-medal match on Court Philippe-Chatrier at Roland Garros on Friday.

After all, it was only the country's second Olympic medal in tennis, 20 years since women's double pair Li Ting and Sun Tiantian won the first gold at Athens 2004.

And the fact that the Zhang-Wang team was only paired right before the mixed doubles tournament kicked off, due to the last-minute withdrawal of Zhang's original partner Zheng Qinwen, China's top-ranked women's player, has added an extra laurels on their final appearance.

"I believe this match has drawn in a lot of people back in China to watch tennis and grow interest in tennis," Zhang, a men's world No 41, said after the final, won by the Czech pair 6-2, 5-7, 10-8 in one hour and 17 minutes.

"A lot of general sports fans still don't know the exact rules of tennis but watched our match anyway. I hope what we did will help more people understand tennis and better promote the sport in China."

Wang, a 36th-ranked women's player, said to win an Olympic medal for her country ranks among the proudest moments in her professional career.

"At this moment, I feel grateful for being a tennis player. 10 years, or 15 years ago, not so many people knew about this sport. I am super happy about this progress," said Wang, who was already packing for the airport following her singles second-round exit when Zhang called her for a make-shift mixed doubles team on July 30.

Entering the final as reasonably the favorite, thanks to their relationship off the court, doubles specialists Siniakova and Machac started strong to break the Chinese team twice to clinch the first set with ease.

Zhang and Wang stepped up their game in the second, breaking their opponents in the 12th game to force a deciding third-set, where the first team scores 10 points and wins the match.

Siniakova and Machac eventually prevailed with a more consistent performance than the Chinese pair in the decider, delivering the Czech delegation's first gold medal in Paris.

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriela Dabrowski beat Dutch team Demi Schuurs and Wesley Koolhof in an earlier bronze-medal match to complete the podium in mixed doubles.

With one medal secured already, China's tennis fans will stay locked on the red-clay central court at Roland Garros on Saturday, expecting Zheng to deliver a double delight in the women's singles final against Donna Vekic of Croatia.

Zheng has made full commitment in singles, after she had to withdraw from the mixed doubles due to a rain-enforced scheduling clash.

PARIS -- Local hero Leon Marchand clinched his fourth gold medal of the Paris Olympics by winning the men's 200m individual medley final on Friday.

The 22-year-old Frenchman set a new Olympic record of 1 minute, 54.06 seconds to finish more than a second ahead of Britain's Duncan Scott, who took silver.

Wang Shun of China claimed bronze, almost two seconds off the pace.

Marchand has also won golds in the 200m butterfly, 200m breaststroke and 400m individual medley at these Games.

There can be no better setting than the Paris Olympics for Chinese badminton player Huang Yaqiong to receive perhaps the two most precious pieces of jewelry of her life.

A ring presented by her boyfriend and teammate Liu Yuchen during an improvised proposal on Friday afternoon, right after she had won her first Olympic gold medal, sent Huang into double heaven at the La Chapelle Arena in the world's romance capital, making the mixed doubles final at the Paris Olympics a moment to remember for years.

Roared on by an enthusiastic crowd, Huang and doubles partner Zheng Siwei demolished South Korea's Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun, 21-8, 21-11, to win their first Olympic title together, making up for their loss in the final at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

Surrounded by a sea of bright red Chinese flags in the crowd, Zheng knelt on the court and screamed with his arms outstretched, while Huang collapsed to the ground before running into the arms of her coach as they celebrated the victory.

After the medal ceremony, China's men's doubles player Liu, who has been dating Huang for years, showed up at the athletes' exit, to the surprise of Huang, and amid thunderous cheers, fell to one knee and proposed with a shining ring, with the moment captured by photographers from across the world.

"He really surprised me. I didn't know it, only focusing on preparing for the final. The ring fits me well and I was so happy to live perhaps the happiest day of my life," Huang said while showing journalists the ring on her finger at the post-final news conference.

Zheng appreciated his partner for fulfilling their joint career goal, and congratulated her particularly for opening a new chapter in her life.

"I am so happy for her to be able to balance both so well, just as I did, but at a better occasion. She really deserves the double happiness," said Zheng, who married his wife after winning a silver medal at the Tokyo Games.

Japan's Arisa Higashino and Yuta Watanabe completed the podium by beating another South Korean pair, Chae Yu-jung and Seo Seung-jae, in the earlier bronze-medal match on Friday.

Having prepared for a tough and close final showdown against Kim and Jeong, the Chinese duo executed their game plan perfectly, taking an early lead with their aggressive combination in offense and fending off the Korean pair's counterattack with firm and solid defense.

Their better preparation and well-planned pre-Games routines, compared to three years ago when they lost to compatriots Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping, made the final in Paris easier than expected, said Zheng.

"Last time our Olympic preparation was affected by our injuries. We learned the lessons and did better this time. It was hardworking before Tokyo and it was smart working this time around," said Zheng.

"We came out to win today no matter who stand across the net. With the crowd back in the arena, we enjoyed the competition more and unleashed greater energy.

"We knew the Korean pairs are super competitive as well. They could've come back with a rally quickly, so we told ourselves to start from zero after each winning point. We stayed focused and on course to victory throughout the match."

The women's trampoline final of the Paris Olympics took place at the Bercy Arena on Friday. Defending champion Zhu Xueying from China finished fourth with a score of 55.510.

PARIS -- Chinese duo Zheng Siwei/Huang Yaqiong claimed the badminton mixed doubles gold medal at the Paris Olympics after beating South Korea's Kim Won-ho/Jeong Na-eun in the final on Friday.

Zheng and Huang, silver medalists at the Tokyo Olympics, won the gold medal match 21-8, 21-11.

Earlier on Friday, Japan's Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino won the bronze medal by defeating South Korea's Seo Seung-jae and Chae Yu-jung 21-13, 22-20.

During her visit to the Paris Games, Chinese Winter Olympic champion Gu Ailing granted an exclusive interview to China Daily's online show Tracking Success as she enjoyed a walk through the French capital.

Gu told us that she's thrilled to be in Paris and that she hopes that all the athletes will enjoy the Games. As a spectator at the Summer Games, Gu has particularly enjoyed the diving competition, saying that she really admires the way the divers achieve such perfect maneuvers in the air.

She also said that she is an avid runner and announced that she will participate in the Summer Games — by taking part in a mass participation marathon through Paris.

To find out more, click the video.

PARIS -- Sun Yingsha and Chen Meng, the top and second seeds in the women's singles at Paris 2024, defeated their respective opponents in the semifinals on Friday to set up an all-Chinese final.

Defending champion Chen swept past Shin Yu-bin of South Korea 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 and 11-7 before Sun outclassed Hina Hayata of Japan 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 and 11-2.

The women's singles gold medal match will take place on Saturday at the South Paris Arena 4.

This will be the second time that Sun and Chen meet in the Olympic women's singles final. At Tokyo 2020, Chen overcame Sun 4-2 to claim the Olympic title.

PARIS -- Chinese divers Wang Zongyuan and Long Daoyi fended off a strong challenge from Mexico's Juan Celaya Hernandez and Osmar Olvera Ibarra to win the men's synchronized 3m springboard title at the Paris Olympics on Friday.

Despite two below-par dives, Wang and Long managed to nail their last and most difficult dive to claim the fourth diving gold for China in Paris with a score of 446.1 points.

"I was terrified," said the 21-year-old Long, who took two world champion titles together with Wang but is making his Olympic debut in Paris. "You could notice my nervousness even in the first two rounds."

As Long dived awkwardly in the third and fourth rounds, they were overtaken by the Mexican pair temporarily - merely by a slight margin of 0.24 points.

"I just told him there was nothing to be scared of," said Wang, who won the Olympic champion title in this event in Tokyo three years ago with Xie Siyi.

"It's the toughest competition for us so far. It's so tight and I know we were behind the Mexican divers after the fourth round," said Wang. "I just asked my partner to stop looking at the scoring board and encouraged him to be himself."

Hernandez and Ibarra were only 2.07 points behind, finishing second. Previously, they only competed together in one international event where they claimed silver at the World Cup Super Final in April.

Jack Laugher and Anthony Harding of Britain, who finished second at the 2022 and 2023 world championships, took the bronze medal in 438.15.

"I'm just so proud of what we've done," said Laugher, who and Chris Mears became Britain's first diving Olympic champions by winning this event at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

"We've had a really rough year. And I think that we've worked extremely hard and I'm so proud of where we've got to. It was just a wonderfully fun competition. It was all so close and I'm so proud of what we've done," said Laugher.

China's butterfly swimmer Zhang Yufei has defended the integrity and hard work of teammate Pan Zhanle after his record-breaking Olympic Games triumph in Paris, hitting back at biased and unfair questioning of his progress by some Western media and an Australian coach.

After winning her third bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in the women's 200m butterfly，Zhang, who entered the race as defending champion, spoke to journalists and shared her thoughts on competing at her third Olympic Games, and also addressed questions regarding a proven food contamination incident more than three years ago which affected 23 Chinese swimmers, including Zhang herself.

"I don't think it's fair and ethical to have otherwise would-be confidential information of all the athletes' identities, including mine, to be leaked out just before the Paris Olympics," said Zhang, who by the end of Thursday had finished third in three events at Paris 2024, the 100m and 200m butterfly, and 4x100m freestyle relay.

"World Aquatics (swimming's governing body) has done its investigation clearly and our information was supposed to be kept confidential, according to the world anti-doping rules, to protect athletes proven no-fault in a contamination case, as we were.

"Yet the information leak resulted in our names and photos being published irresponsibly by some media, causing unwanted extra attention and distraction on my preparation for Paris," said Zhang, who won two gold medals at the Tokyo 2020 Games, in the 200m butterfly and 4x200m freestyle relay.

Before the Paris Games, both the World Anti-Doping Agency, also known as WADA, and World Aquatics had clearly stated, citing several independent probes and reviews, that the contamination outcome of the incident was solid and reasonable. All swimmers involved in the incident have been cleared of any wrongdoings and have gone through a rigorous doping test program, consistent with international regulations, to be allowed to compete in Paris.

The release of Chinese athletes' personal information in April, first by The New York Times and German broadcaster ARD has, however, caused unfair and unnecessary extra scrutiny of the team, leaving athletes mentally pressured during the Games.

"Since we've been proven innocent, it's unfair for us to be put into a situation where I personally have to concern opinions of some other countries' athletes being influenced toward us," said Zhang. "Emotionally, I feel sad that my hard training and performances would not be respected."

As an athlete not involved in the 2021 contamination incident, Pan was celebrated by fans and the majority of swimming's international community when he took 0.4 seconds off his own world record on his way to victory in Wednesday's 100m freestyle final, in a new world record time of 46.40 seconds.

Australia's runner-up Kyle Chalmers and Romanian former world record holder David Popovici, who finished third, expressed their respect for the Chinese teenager's improvement, acknowledging his record-breaking performance as motivational.

But Brett Hawke, an Australian swimming coach who is not part of the current Olympic delegation, posted outrageous speculation from afar about Pan's progress, suggesting his performance was enhanced.

"I am angry at that swim," Hawke posted on Instagram on Wednesday. "I'm upset right now because you don't win 100 freestyle by a body length on that field. You just don't do it. It is not humanly possible to beat that field by a body length."

Zhang spoke up for her younger teammate, reiterating that it is unreasonably biased to question an athlete who has fully cooperated with all relevant organizations and gone through repeated testing without a single positive result prior to and during the Games.

"Pan's cracked the 47-second barrier quite a few times over the past year on a steady rise in his training and competition," Zhang said of his improvement.

"He's been tested I don't know how many times here. If he'd violated any doping rules, as some would have speculated, WADA or World Aquatics would've already taken actions. He's a clean athlete who just worked hard to swim as fast as he could," Zhang said.

PARIS - China's mixed doubles badminton pair, Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong, claimed a commanding victory over Japan's Yuta Watanabe and Arisa Higashino on Thursday, winning 21-14, 21-15.

The top-seeded duo will compete against South Korea's Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun in the final on Friday, with the first badminton gold medal of the Paris Olympics at stake.

Zheng commented on their performance, noting that strong starts in both sets had allowed them to exert early pressure and control the match.

In the men's singles, Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn staged a comeback, overcoming a set deficit to defeat Japan's Kenta Nishimoto 16-21, 21-14, 21-12 in the round of 16, where another Japanese, No. 5 seed Kodai Naraoka, also suffered an early exit, losing 21-12, 21-16 to Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen.

Meanwhile, in an all-Indian men's singles clash, Lakshya Sen triumphed over veteran Prannoy Haseena Sunil Kumar, winning 21-12, 21-6 to secure his place in the quarterfinals.

China's men's doubles team of Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang edged past Indonesia's Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Adianto in a nail-biting encounter, with scores of 24-22, 22-20. Liang and Wang will next face the Malaysian duo of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the semifinals, a team they have previously defeated during the group stage.

In the women's doubles, both Chinese pairs advanced to the semifinals. Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan will compete against Malaysia's Tan Pearly and Thinaah Muralitharan, while Liu Shengshu and Tan Ning are set to face Japan's Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida. These matches are scheduled for Friday and promise to be intense battles as the athletes vie for a place in the finals.

PARIS - The Chinese women's volleyball team clinched a quarterfinal spot of 2024 Paris Olympics with an easy 3-0 win over hosts France in their second Group A match here on Thursday.

The 25-18, 25-16, 25-19 victory ensured China's berth in the knockout stage with one group match remaining, joining Brazil, Poland, Italy, and Turkey, who have also secured the quarterfinal spots.

With two consecutive wins and five points, China currently lead Group A, ahead of Serbia and the United States, who each have one win.

In Group B, Brazil and Poland both have secured two wins, while Japan and Kenya remain winless. Group C saw Italy and Turkey also achieve two victories, with the Netherlands and the Dominican Republic yet taking a win.

The situation indicates even if China lost their final group match, their wins and points will still be sufficient to surpass the third-place teams in Groups B and C, guaranteeing their progression, according to the tournament's qualification rules.

In the first set against France, China started strong with a 5-0 run, forcing an early timeout. Despite a brief rally led by Lucille Gicquel's powerful serves, China regained control with improved receiving. The second set followed a similar pattern, with China quickly establishing a lead that France couldn't overcome. Although France managed to tie the score at 12-12 in the third set and momentarily halted China's momentum, the Chinese team swiftly regained dominance to close out the match.

"The French side is not a weak team, they have powerful serves and good block height, but they made too many mistakes," commented China's head coach Cai Bin.

"It will be really hard, like I mentioned, we are in a strong group, it would be really hard to beat another team, but we are here and we are playing against China for the first time, and we are going to play the US, so we are taking some experience for the next time," said Lucille Gicquel who got a team high 10 points for France.

Hong Kong's "flying fish" Siobhan Haughey won her second bronze of the Paris Games on Thursday, this time in the women's 100m freestyle, becoming the first athlete from the region to clinch four Olympic medals. It also takes the total number of medals won so far by Hong Kong, China, at this summer's Olympics to four.

Its first two were individual gold medals in fencing — won by Vivian Kong Man-wai in the women's epee, and Edgar Cheung Ka-long in the men's foil — followed by Haughey's bronzes in the 200m and 100m freestyle.

In the 100m freestyle final, Haughey finished the first 50 meters in 25.09 sec, putting her in second place, but dropped back to third, taking the bronze in a time of 52.33 sec.

After the finals, Haughey spoke to the media, saying that although medals are important, what matters most to her is that she has put in a tremendous amount of effort and truly enjoyed this competition.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government officials, including Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, sent congratulations to Haughey and her coach.

"Siobhan has maintained a high level of performance and remained fearless against the world's best athletes throughout the competition," Lee said, adding that all Hong Kong residents, including himself, are proud of Haughey.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said that Haughey demonstrated extraordinary skill, and emphasized that the city is both thrilled and proud of her.

During the women's 200m freestyle on Tuesday, Haughey finished third with a time of 1 minute 54.55 sec.

Kong, who won the team's first gold at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, returned to Hong Kong on Thursday morning and received a rapturous welcome at the airport. The 30-year-old fencer expressed her gratitude to the public, and thanked everyone for supporting the athletes.

"It is a blessing to be an athlete in Hong Kong, especially in fencing." Kong thanked her predecessors for their efforts, which she said have enabled the current generation of athletes to enjoy greater resources to pursue their dreams.

She also congratulated Cheung and Haughey on their achievements, and emphasized that the efforts and passion of athletes cannot always be measured by their results.

Regarding the prize money of HK$6 million ($769,000), awarded under the Jockey Club Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme, Kong expressed her intention to set up a charity fund aimed at supporting more children to engage in fencing. She aspires to increase the exposure of sports, with the hope that more individuals will discover one they enjoy and excel at.

Kong's brilliant performance also garnered plaudits from the Chinese mainland. In Mandarin, she expressed gratitude for the support, and said that all athletes deserve to be appreciated.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held three years ago, Hong Kong secured six medals, including one gold by Cheung and two silvers by Haughey.