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Hong Kong Hopes Windsurfer can Score Second Gold Medal
There's one big question Hong Kong's Olympics team hopes to answer in Sydney: Can San San do it again?
Twenty-nine-year-old windsurfer Lee Lai-shan holds Hong Kong's only Olympic medal, the gold she picked up four years ago in the Atlanta Olympics.
And Hong Kong's small team sees Lee, affectionately known by the nickname ``San San,'' as its most likely candidate for a second medal.
``She is the best bet and our best hope,'' said Karl Kwok, a Hong Kong team official. ``She's obviously mentally trying to defend the title, and she's been on the international circuit since the last games.''
Lee also picked up a gold medal at the 1998 Asian Games in Thailand, and she's viewed as one of the favorites in the Mistral women's sailboard competition in Sydney.
Other contenders to watch include Jessica Crisp of Australia, Barbara Kendall of New Zealand and Lanee Butler of the United States.
Lee, who learned to windsurf while growing up in Hong Kong's sleepy island fishing village of Cheung Chau, said before leaving for Sydney that the competition has ``turned into a war'' and she tried to play down any expectations of a repeat triumph.
``If you were to ask me the likelihood of bringing back a medal under the same standards as last time, I'd say it wasn't likely,'' Lee told local journalists. ``The standards have really improved tremendously.''
Kwok said it would take a huge amount of good fortune for Hong Kong to win two medals, but he sees the next best chance as table tennis player Song Ah-sim.
Kwok predicted that if Song gets some lucky draws in the early rounds, she might advance as far as the top eight _ but it would take a miracle to ever get past powerhouse China.
Hong Kong is now part of China but it's governed with a great deal of autonomy and will be competing in the games as Hong Kong, China.
``If we face China in the first round, we get knocked out of it immediately,'' Kwok said.
Hong Kong hopes to host the Asian Games in 2006 and boosters say a credible Olympics performance wouldn't hurt.
``Sports is a minor issue in Hong Kong. Now, we are trying to change the minds of the Hong Kong people,'' said Eric Lee, team manager for the track and field athletes.
``If other countries have a feeling the Hong Kong athletes are trying their best, they'll have a better impression for Hong Kong hosting the Asian Games,'' he said.
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