Hong Kong rowers Chiu Hin-chun and Winnie Hung both fell just short in their bids for a National Games medal on Monday, each finishing fifth in their respective events in Guangzhou.

Chiu, a two-time Olympian, started the race on lane one and finished the course in five minutes and 6.19 seconds in the men's lightweight single sculls final.

He was nearly seven seconds behind winner Gu Jiantao of Sichuan. Shandong's Ma Yule took silver and Zhu Bohao of Anhui placed third.

"The winds gave those in the middle lanes more of an advantage... For them, they could use less force every stroke to get further whenever the wind blew. But it was relatively tougher for me," Chiu said after the race.

"I have performed my best, so I am satisfied with any outcome."

Fellow SAR Olympian Winnie Hung also placed fifth in the women's lightweight single sculls final with a time of five minutes and 37.06 seconds.

"For international competitions, ability levels among rowers may vary. But all the athletes in the National Games have similar abilities, and the time difference is just a few seconds. That makes the National Games harder," she said.

Gold in the women's event went to Anhui's Zhang Fangfang.