Sleepless in HK as fans get up early for Quan

Stacy Shi

Olympic double gold medalist Quan Hongchan, 17, may have triumphed over the world's best divers, but an early schedule and a three-hour flight from Beijing to Hong Kong may have taken a toll on her energy.

After disembarking, Quan was spotted yawning and scratching her head.

The teenager was the second athlete to get off the plane, right after table tennis player Ma Long, and she eagerly chatted with fellow delegates.

She also made a lovely mistake as she waved her hand during a photo session when the athletes should be clapping together.

Quan, a fan of turtle toys, hang two turtle bag charms on her handbag yesterday. She was also gifted a stuffed toy of Junior Police Call's mascot "Mini Bean."

Among the 160 JPC students welcoming the athletes at the airport runway, a 19-year-old student surnamed Leung said she loved table tennis and had been rooting for the doubles team of Sun Yingsha and Wang Chuqin throughout the Paris Olympics.

Leung expressed regret at being unable to obtain a ticket for the gala show today, which had sold out within an hour, but added that she would be listening to athletes' sharing at the Fire and Ambulance Services Academy in Tseung Kwan O today.

Yau, eight, said he was too excited to fall asleep the night before and got up at 6am yesterday.

"I'd been waiting for this day to come and I couldn't sleep! I want to meet Quan the most because I like diving. But I'm too short so I couldn't see her," he said, adding he had hoped to give her his JPC gold medal in exchange for a chance to touch her real gold medal.

Yau will watch the diving demonstration at Victoria Park Swimming Pool tomorrow.

Dozens of Hongkongers and tourists gathered outside the InterContinental Grand Stanford Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui - where more than 90 rooms on two floors were reserved for the visiting athletes - to greet the Olympians. Some fans brought posters and stuffed toys to meet their idols.

"I want to see Sun Yingsha and Quan Hongchan. They spent great efforts during the Olympic Games so I want to support them and thank them for their efforts," a fan named Chan said.

A Macau tourist said the athletes won honors for the country and he would follow them to the enclave after their Hong Kong trip.

Mainland tourists expressed excitement about meeting with the Olympic medalists, saying such an opportunity was rare back home.

stacy.shi@singtaonewscorp.com