HONG KONG—Hong Kong International Tony Cheung moved one step closer to completing his collection of all singles titles in Hong Kong by lifting the National Singles at the Finals Day last Sunday, Jan 21. Meanwhile, former Canadian international Shirley Ko also collected her second singles title in consecutive months by winning the women competition.
Cheung won the National Indoor Singles in 2011 and the National Champion of Champions Singles in 2016, but lost in the final of the National Knock-out Singles to Lui Chin Hong of Craigengower Cricket Club last month.
He played in the final of the National Triples with his Hong Kong Football Club teammates Kenneth Fung and Warren Cheung in the morning sessions of the Finals Day. They fought till the end against a strong Police team of Peter Lau, Milo Lai and Dave Hansen.
It was so tight that the Police team were just holding a one-shot advantage going into the last end. Cheung burnt the last end twice but in the third time his last bowl could not take out the shot bowl and he lost 13:11.
The defeat did not affect Cheung as he believed that he played really well in the morning. “I was well prepared for the day and I believed my performance in the morning was good. The loss did not affect my morale as I know I will have a good chance if I continue with this performance.”
His opponent was Terence Tam from the Hong Kong Paralympic Committee & Sports Association for the Physically Disabled. This is also the first time a representative from the club entered the final of a premier tournament.
The game started evenly as both side were searching for the winning formula. Tam was leading 5:4 after the fifth end but then Cheung changed the tactic and started domination, “I understand that Tam was used to playing on fast greens and the Hong Kong Football Club greens may be a bit heavy for him. So I changed my tactic to play long head.”
The change of distance worked well for Cheung and he took 12 shots from the following six ends. Tam pulled one back in the twelfth end but it still finished 6:21.
Cheung was jubilant after the win as the win fulfilled one of his ambitions, “At the beginning of the match I was a bit emotional as this is the title I have longed for. I studied the style of my opponent and understood that he tended to play on a slower pace. I have to adjust my routine to fit into this mode and to perform my usual standard.”
He also thanked the support from his teammates and coaches and vowed to strengthen himself to achieve better results for Hong Kong.
In the women’s competition, 67 years old Shirley Ko followed her success at the National Knock-out Singles last month and collect a second title in consecutive months.
After the success. Ko became the first lady to win both the Canadian singles (2005) and the local National Singles.
It was a straight victory in her final against Vivian Wong from Island Lawn Bowls Club. The game was quite one-sided as Ko opened up a lead of 2:9 after seventh end. It widened to 7:17 after the 14th end and finished at 12:21 after two hours.
On the Finals Day Hong Kong Football Club became the biggest winner as they collected the Mixed Triples, Men’s 2-4-2 Pairs and Cheung took the National Singles.
Results Roundup for the Finals Day
Men National Singles: Hong Kong Football Club (Tony Cheung) bt Hong Kong Paralympic Committee & Sports Association for the Physically Disabled (Li Ming Sum) 21:6Indian Recreation Club (Shirley Ko) bt Island Lawn Bowls Club (Vivian Wong) 21:12
Hong Kong Police (Peter Lau, Dave Hanson, Milo Lai) bt Hong Kong Football Club (Kenneth Fung, Warren Cheung, Tony Cheung) 13:11
Filipino Club (Daisy Kwok, Florence Lau, Sanlia Wong) bt Island Lawn Bowls Club (Vivian Wong, Bannie Wong, Joanne Leung) 20:7
Hong Kong Football Club (Kenny Tam, Derek Wylie) bt Craigengower Cricket Club (Imen Tang, Stanley Lai) 15:14
Craigengower Cricket Club (Judy Kwai, Ada Lai) bt Statin Sports Association (Fiona Ng, Rita Li) 19:6
Hong Kong Football Club (Shirley Ma, Kenneth Fung, Walter Kwok) bt Filipino Club (Erica Leung, Eric Lam, Stephen Sy) 18:10
Hong Kong Youth Development Team (Lyndon Sham, Kenneth Yiu) bt Island Lawn Bowls Club (Chan E Hong, Wong Yiu Hung) 19:10
Hong Kong Youth Development Team (Coby Wu, Joey Luk) bt Hong Kong Youth Development Team (Agnes Leung, Chilli Leung) 19:10
