Mainland Olympic stars an inspiration for HK students

HONG KONG – Five of the Chinese mainland's top Olympians and a coach have inspired Hong Kong students, instilling in the city's younger generation the true spirit of Olympic.

The athletes, who are part of a visiting 29-member Olympian team from the mainland, met students at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on Sunday.

Speaking to a roomful of youngsters, 33-year-old table tennis Grand Slam winner Ma Long, who won two gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, shared with students why he wanted to continue his table tennis career despite his great achievements in sport and how he overcame sports injuries and challenges, which inspired him to take part in the Olympic Games again five years after 2016 Rio Olympics.

Ma urged students to hold fast to their dreams and what they love.

Sprint star Su Bingtian, epee champion Sun Yiwen, weightlifting champion Lyu Xiaojun, women's quadruple sculls gold medalist Cui Xiaotong and national swimming team coach Wang Aimin were also present.

The meeting was among a series of activities on the last day of the Olympian delegation's three-day visit to the SAR that began on Friday.

Lam Tai-fai, chairman of the PolyU council as well as of the Hong Kong Sports Institute, invited the mainland athletes to further their studies at the PolyU when they retire from sports.

He said he was grateful to the athletes, calling it a "rare" and "precious" opportunity for the university's students and staff members to communicate with the nation's top athletes and coach.