Hong Kong cyclist Ceci Lee Sze-wing wrapped up her Asian Games campaign on Friday by securing a bronze medal in the women’s omnium.
The 25-year-old track specialist finished the multi-discipline event with 124 points, falling just nine points short of Kazakhstan’s Rinata Sultanova, who clinched the silver medal.
Yumi Kajihara of the host nation, Japan, dominated the competition to reclaim the gold medal she previously won at the Hangzhou Games three years ago.
The demanding omnium event tests the versatility of riders across four distinct races packed into a single day, with the final standings decided by the highest cumulative score.
Lee put herself in a strong position early in the day, sitting in second place with 112 points after solid performances in the scratch, tempo, and elimination races.
At that stage, she was trailing the leading Japanese rider by a mere four points.
However, the final rankings were decided during the grueling 80-lap points race, which awards extra points to the top four finishers in sprint laps held every ten laps.
Sultanova staged a dramatic late comeback, racking up an impressive 27 points in the final stretch to leapfrog Lee in the standings.
While Lee managed to gather an additional 12 points to narrowly defend her podium spot against a strong challenge from China's Chen Ning, it was not enough to hold onto the silver.
Lee, who had previously won a silver medal in the same event in Hangzhou, made a strategic decision to bypass the road races this year to focus her energy entirely on the track.
Reflecting on her race afterward, she expressed frustration with her performance, admitting that her physical endurance let her down during the final phase of the competition and noting that she had struggled with similar late-race fatigue in past events without finding a solution.
Despite the late setback in the omnium, Lee leaves the Games with a successful haul of two medals, having also captured a silver medal in the Madison.
Her individual achievements contributed to a strong overall showing for the Hong Kong cycling squad, which concluded the tournament with a total of three silver and two bronze medals.
