The 15th National Games are now officially underway following the opening ceremony in Guangzhou yesterday. President Xi Jinping declared the Games open at the Guangdong Olympic Sports Centre, where the cauldron was jointly lit by Guangdong sprinter Su Bingtian, Hong Kong fencer Cheung Ka-long and Macao wushu star Li Yi.
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Macao’s athletes continued to deliver on home soil. On 8 and 9 November, the city added two more karate golds when Fong Man Wai (women’s 55 kg) and Iong Kuang Hou (men’s 67 kg) won their finals at Forum Macao, while Xu Jiacheng and Lei Hong Kio won bronze, bringing the SAR’s karate haul to three gold and two bronze medals for this edition.
Earlier in the week, the Macao men’s kata team had also won gold in the mass-participation kata event. The Macao government published a congratulatory message yesterday, with Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai praising the athletes for their “rigorous training and pursuit of excellence” and sent his warmest congratulations to the medal winners and the wider delegation.
Table tennis at Galaxy Arena Macao – being staged until 20 November – produced tough draws for the SAR’s youth side. The Macao U18 women’s team lost 0-3 to Shanxi on 7 November, followed by a 0-3 defeat to Hong Kong on 8 November in group play. The tournament continues through the third week of November, with further team and singles rounds scheduled.
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On the roads, the marquee cross-boundary men’s road cycling race took place on 8 November over a 231.8-kilometre course linking Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Shandong’s Liu Zhicheng won the gold in 5 hours 17 minutes and 5 seconds, with Beijing’s Xue Chaohua and Yunnan’s Hu Haijie completing the podium. Macao’s Kam Chin-pok finished 30th, while Hong Kong’s Chu Tsun-wai placed 15th.
In the women’s road cycling individual event on 9 November in Zhuhai, Hong Kong’s Lee Sze-wing defended her title, winning gold over a 138.7-kilometre course in 3 hours 19 minutes 54 seconds.
In the pool today, Pan Zhanle finished his men’s 400-metre freestyle heat in 3 minutes 51.64 seconds to rank fifth overall in preliminaries, while Sun Yang placed eighth with 3 minutes 52.90 seconds. Both advanced to the next round.
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With the opening ceremony complete and competition intensifying, the Games will continue through 21 November, with finals in athletics, swimming and other major sports now taking centre stage alongside ongoing events in Macao.
