‘Hong Kong Heroine’ Lydia Sham Wins First Asian Games Gold for Hong Kong

Hong Kong wushu starLydia Sham Hui-yufinally completed her Asian Games gold-medal dream on Monday, winning the women’s Changquan title at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games and delivering Hong Kong’s first gold medal of the Games.

Competing at the Aichi Prefectural Martial Arts Hall, Sham produced a score of9.713 pointsto finish first, edging Macao China’s Sou Cho-man by just0.003 points. Indonesia’s Eugenia Diva Widodo took bronze with 9.706.

The victory marked the biggest Asian Games milestone of Sham’s career after she had gone without a medal in her previous two appearances.

A Gold Eight Years in the Making

For Sham, the victory represented the culmination of years of preparation.

The 26-year-old was competing at herthird Asian Games, having first appeared at the continental event eight years ago. She had also been selected as one of Hong Kong’s flag bearers at the opening ceremony in Nagoya.

“I prepared for eight years, but on the competition floor I only had about one and a half minutes to perform,” Sham said after the final, describing the experience as almost unreal.

The pressure was particularly intense because Sham entered the competition as one of Hong Kong’s leading medal hopes.

She was the second-to-last athlete to perform. By the time she stepped onto the floor, several of her main rivals had already completed their routines.

Sham later admitted that she was extremely nervous, but managed to stay focused and complete her routine without a major mistake.

A Strategic Change Paid Off

One major difference this time was Sham’s decision to focus exclusively on Changquan.

In previous competitions, she had competed across multiple wushu disciplines, including Changquan, Jianshu and Qiangshu. Preparing for several events meant a significantly heavier training workload.

For the Asian Games, she concentrated on a single discipline, allowing more time to refine technical details.

Sham said the change gave her more time to work on small elements of her movements and rhythm. Even seemingly simple movements, she noted, can require years of practice to perfect.

That focused preparation ultimately paid off on the biggest stage.

Narrowest of Margins

The final produced an unusually tight finish.

Sham's 9.713 placed her only three thousandths of a point ahead of Sou Cho-man, who scored 9.710.

The narrow margin meant the result remained uncertain until the final performance was completed. When Indonesia’s Widodo scored 9.706, Sham's gold was secured.

Hong Kong teammate Yang Ziying finished fifth with 9.703.

The result gave Hong Kong its first gold medal of the 2026 Asian Games, after the delegation had previously collected two silver medals.

From World Games Champion to Asian Games Champion

Sham entered the Asian Games with an already impressive international record.

At the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, she won gold in the women's Changquan-Jianshu-Qiangshu all-around event.

The Asian Games title, however, had remained missing from her collection.

After the final, Sham immediately embraced her coachGeng Xiaoling, who had also won a wushu gold medal for Hong Kong at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. Sixteen years later, coach and athlete had another Asian Games gold to celebrate together.

Sham credited her coaches, medical team, family, teammates and Hong Kong supporters for helping her reach the podium.

A Moment Hong Kong Had Been Waiting For

The gold medal was more than a personal breakthrough for Sham.

It also gave the Hong Kong delegation its first Asian Games gold medal in Aichi-Nagoya.

Hong Kong officials congratulated Sham after her victory, praising her focus and technical performance and describing the result as an important start for the delegation at the Games.

For Sham, the celebration was mixed with relief.

After three Asian Games appearances and years of preparation, the long-awaited moment lasted only around 90 seconds on the competition floor.

But those 90 seconds were enough.

With a score of 9.713, Lydia Sham finally stood at the top of an Asian Games podium — and became the athlete who delivered Hong Kong's first gold medal of Aichi-Nagoya 2026.