On Wednesday (Sept. 27), the winning rugby sevens team from Hong Kong returned to the city with their gold medals.
The men's team secured a second successive title with a 14-7 win over South Korea in the final in Hangzhou on Tuesday (Sept. 26). Their captain, Max Woodward, said winning gold was a relief given the tough competition they faced. He said he's ecstatic that the team could follow up their victory at the 2018 games.
"A lot of relief for us as a team. I think we know how much the Asian Games mean to HK. The competition is so fierce," he said.
"There are three or four teams that could win medals at the Asian Games, so for us to come back on top, it is a relief," he added.
Max Denmark, meanwhile, won the plaudits for a try that completed a spectacular semi-final comeback against Japan. He said it was teammate Russell Webb who gave him the confidence to grab the winning score in extra time.
"It was an unbelievable moment. I mean earlier in that game, we had a similar scrum in the midfield and I made a mistake running into touch but when it came into that extra time, I looked at Russell and Russell looked at me and said 'This is your moment.' I heard that and I had to make this happen," Denmark said.
Salom Yiu, a veteran, has already stated that he will retire after the Games since he is expecting a child and suffers from chronic back pain. However, he stated that before making a definitive choice on his future, he will need to consult with his coaches.
Meanwhile, the women's team beat Thailand to secure a bronze with a final score of 7-5. Co-captain Melody Li said they'll learn from Hangzhou as they look to the Olympic qualifiers next year.
"I still felt like it was a dream. I've joined the last two Asian Games and we came close on the first one... and the previous one, we lost to Thailand so winning Thailand this time was a really big thing for the team and even winning the medal," she said.
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