Hong Kong women's baseball player Sinney Cheuk Woon-yee, shot in the leg during a World Championship game in Caracas, Venezuela, returns to Hong Kong on a wheelchair Tuesday. Edmond Tang / China Daily

Third-base player on the city's women's baseball team, wounded in the left calf by what proved, literally, to be a shot down the third baseline while competing at the Women's Baseball World Cup in Venezuela, said she is hoping for a quick recovery after touching down at Chek Lap Kok Tuesday.

In a wheelchair, dressed in her team colors and accompanied by her father and teammates, 28-year-old Sinney Cheuk Woon-yee said she was happy to be back in the city with her teammates despite her team's withdrawal on the second day of the tournament as a result of the shooting incident.

Expressing her disappointment that the Hong Kong team could not finish the competition, she said, "I hope to compete again as soon as I recover with the support of my family and team."

Cheuk, whose left leg was still bound with bandages upon arrival in Hong Kong, was wounded by a stray gunshot after taking the field during the fourth inning of a game against the Netherlands.

Still in pain, she was admitted to a private hospital after leaving the airport.

Recounting the moment she was wounded, she said "I was at my post and I felt a pain in my leg and found I couldn't stand."

After undergoing surgery at a military hospital in Caracas over the weekend, she was greeted by rousing cheers by her teammates and players from six other teams participating in the tournament.

Venezuelan Vice President Elias Jaua said Cheuk was struck by "an object similar to a stray bullet", while President Huge Chavaz called the team personally to apologize for the incident, team manager Felix Yip Wai-kwong said.

Speaking of the incident, Yip said, "at first, she thought that the ball had hit her in the leg. However, she then felt a serious pain. She looked down and saw that there was a little hole in her calf with blood coming from it."

The team flew back to Hong Kong via Frankfurt shortly, after Cheuk's release with the Security Bureau hastily arranging transport.

Yip said the team had withdrawn because members feared for their safety. "It was a big shock for everyone. It affected them so badly that there was no point in continuing," he said.

Venezuelan authorities are investigating the incident that took place at a stadium in the military garrison of Fuerte Tiuna.

Local authorities claimed a shootout was in progress outside the garrison area.

Following a hotel lockdown to protect players, this year's biennial tournament was moved to Maracay and the remainder of the games rescheduled, with ten teams including Taiwan, Japan and South Korea still in the running.

China Daily

(HK Edition 08/18/2010 page1)