The Nagoya Asian Games is drawing to a close on Sunday, with Hong Kong, China wrapping up its campaign ninth on the medals table with 11 gold, 19 silver and 24 bronze medals – marking the delegation's best-ever performance in Asian Games history.

It's both the highest number of gold as well as overall medals the city has won at the Games.

In a statement, Chief Executive John Lee extended his congratulations, commending the athletes "for demonstrating their perseverance and exceptional prowess in the competitions".

He noted that the SAR took gold in wushu, swimming, rowing, squash, sailing, tennis, windsurfing and rugby sevens, and that the squash, sailing and tennis teams achieved historic results.

"The courage, relentless spirit, perseverance and unyielding determination shown by Hong Kong, China athletes on the field of play are the finest embodiment of the Hong Kong spirit. I believe all Hong Kong people share my excitement and immense pride in their excellent performances."

Lee added the strong showing at the Games demonstrated that government policies and resources for promoting sports development are on the right track.

"The current-term government is proactively promoting sports development and continuously developing elite sports, with various measures implemented to enhance the quality of training and support for elite athletes.

"We will continue to provide full support for Hong Kong, China athletes to excel at international and regional competitions, and to take Hong Kong sport to a new level."

Summing up the delegation’s campaign, Chef de Mission Wong Po-kee described the team’s achievement as unexpectedly good.

“I want to point out that among our 54 medals, a large share comes from water sports. Hong Kong has a unique natural environment to develop water sports events. I hope that after returning to Hong Kong, individual sports associations can summarise their experience to see how they can nurture more talent,” he said.

When asked whether the SAR would bid to host a future Asian Games, Wong said hosting a large-scale sporting event requires community support and consensus in society, as well as government approval.

He did not rule out the possibility of collaborating with other cities in the Greater Bay Area, drawing on the co-hosting model used for the National Games last year.

The final day of competition on Sunday saw two equestrian events held in the morning.

Jacqueline Lai of Hong Kong, China finished eighth in individual jumping competition A, while Patrick Lam finished 11th in individual jumping competition B.

Rugby sevens player Cado Lee will serve as the SAR's flag bearer at the closing ceremony, which takes place at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium later in the afternoon.



Edited by Edmond Fong