Top Hong Kong high-jumper Phoebe Chung aims for Wan Chai podium after narrow miss at Asian Indoor Championships
- This weekend’s Hong Kong Athletics Series 1 kicks off packed six months for the 24-year old, who finished fourth in Astana
- “It’s really motivating for me after a valuable experience battling with Olympians and an Asian record holder,’ Chung says
Top Hong Kong high-jumper Phoebe Chung Wai-yan will be aiming higher at the city’s Athletics Series 1 on Sunday in Wan Chai, after narrowly missing out on a medal at the Asian Indoor Championships.
The Hongkonger was just one place off the podium in Astana, Kazakhstan two weeks ago. She cleared 1.65 metres, 1.70 metres, 1.75 metres, and 1.80 metres with only one jump each, and was in second place before failing to reach 1.84 metres and missing out on a medal.
“It was really motivating for me to finish fourth after a valuable experience battling with Olympians and an Asian record holder there, I learned a lot from them,” Chung, 24, said.
Three athletes from the host country dominated the podium, including two Tokyo Olympians in Nadezhda Dubovitskaya, the current Asian record holder (2.00 metres), and Kristina Ovchinnikova, who took gold with a leap of 1.89 metres.
Yelizaveta Matveyeva, who has a personal best of 1.92 metres, finished third with 1.84 metres.
“To be honest, I did not expect such a strong field, this is my first indoor regional championships and my personal best [1.80 metres] is the lowest compared to all of my competitors, but I was fortunate to be competing against them.
“I’m a little disappointed because my second leap for 1.84 metres was so close, but I know I can do it and hope to reach this height or even higher in the coming months,” said Chung, who stands at 1.79 metres tall.
The Poly-University graduate hopes to close the gap with the top Asian jumpers by reaching 1.85 metres or higher in the next six months, with a packed schedule comprising the Series 1 this weekend, Series 2 in March, Series 3 and Hong Kong Championships in April, Intercity in June, Asian Championships and World University Games in July, and Asian Games in September.
“My goal this weekend is to at least maintain my PB. I found I have a lot to improve on for my skills on the runway and the bar. Being mentally tough is also an area to work on,” Chung added.
The full-time high-jumper, who began training seriously in Form Four, had been unbeaten since November when she won first place at a local club meet with her personal best.
She began 2023 on a high note, finishing first in 1.77 metres at the city’s preseason trials before heading to Astana.
Chung had not competed internationally since injuring herself at a 2017 Macau meet, and the Thailand Open Championships in Bangkok in November marked her comeback, with a gold medal in a leap of 1.78 metres.
A total of nine athletes have registered for the women’s high jump at Wan Chai Sports Ground this weekend, including No 2 Sharon Wong Yuen-nam, who has a personal best of 1.79 metres, No 3 Tiffany Tang Yi-ching and Priscilla Cheung Ching-laam, both of whom had PBs of 1.75 metres the previous season.
