- The women's table tennis team beat Germany in the afternoon, and kata star Grace Lau Mo-sheung won the karate competition later in the evening
- They take home the city's fourth and fifth medals of the 2020 Games, joining fencer Edgar Cheung Ka-long and swimmer Siobhan Haughey in bringing home prizes this year
(From L) Lee Ho-ching, Doo Hoi-kem and Minnie Soo Wai-yam (R) celebrate with their team after winning the women's team table tennis match for the bronze medal against Germany. Photo: AFPHong Kong’s Olympians have won two bronze medals at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, making history, as they hope their success can inspire the city’s teenagers to become full-time athletes.
With the addition of these two bronzes, Hong Kong athletes this year have won a total of five Olympic medals: a gold in fencing, two silvers in swimming, a bronze in table tennis and another bronze in kata karate.
Three Hong Kong paddlers, Minnie Soo Wai-yam, 23, Lee Ho-ching, 28 and Doo Hoi-kem, 24, fought their way to the medal podium on Thursday afternoon and took bronze from the elite German players.
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“I was shocked by the result,” Soo said. “I have played them before and have lost miserably.”
“I hope that our bronze medal can serve as encouragement for Hong Kong’s teenagers, that if we won a medal, they stand a chance to win one too.”
Before the team went up against the German players, many people expected the German team to win, after Hong Kong’s devastating 0:3 loss to mainland Chinese paddlers earlier in the week.
(From L) Hong Kong's Lee Ho-ching, Doo Hoi-kem and Minnie Soo Wai-yam celebrate after Hong Kong won the women's team table tennis match for the bronze medal. Photo: AFP
A team’s match consists of five games: one doubles and four singles.
But the Hong Kong team learned from their loss and put up a stunning performance.
Lee and Doo lost the first doubles match 1:3. But Soo took the second game against Germany’s Ying Han 1:3.
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The German team was dealt a serious blow when Doo took the next game 3:0. Then Soo put on her best game and won the next match 3:0, ensuring the team’s spot at the medal podium.
After the victory, Lee said: “Becoming a full-time athlete is a huge decision to make. I hope that our results today can give parents the confidence to let their children become professional athletes.”
In the evening, Hong Kong’s Grace Lau Mo-sheung, 29, took bronze in the women's individual kata karate competition with a score of 26.94. Gold went to Spain’s Sandra Sanchez, while silver was won by Japan’s Kiyou Shimizu. They scored 28.06 and 27.88 respectively.