Wong survives serious crash to claim Asian Games silver
Hong Kong rider propped up on women's points race podium
On the fourth day of track racing at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, multiple crashes marred the 20km women's points race final won by Xin Liu (People's Republic of China). The worst of the incidents involved five riders, including Wan Yiu Wong (Hong Kong, China) who was leading on points at the time. The Hong Kong rider persevered to win a silver medal, but was clearly in pain on the podium and may have broken multiple ribs as a result of her crash.
"I never thought to give up," Wong said according to Reuters. "The women's point race won't be an event in the 2012 London Olympic Games, so this is the last time for me to compete for a gold medal in the women's points race in big games like the Asian Games. It is very important to me."
Five of the 17 starters in the points race final were unable to finish due to injuries, including Wong's teammate Xiao Juan Diao who was leading the race with 28 points at the time of the crash. She suffered a dislocated shoulder.
The points race gold medalist, China's Xin Liu, said no one was at fault in the crash involving Wong.
"Crashes often happen," she said. ""It wasn't caused by someone doing something deliberate."
The only other final on day four involved the men's 4,000m team pursuit in which South Korea topped Hong Kong, China for gold by nearly three seconds, 4:07.875 to 4:10.859. The People's Republic of China bested Iran for the bronze medal.
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