Kenneth Cheng finishes close fifth as he misses out on an equestrian medal at the National Games
- The Hong Kong rider was seriously hampered by rain in the morning as he scored eight penalty points in first session
- Cheng makes dramatic improvement in afternoon session with only five penalty points but it wasn’t good enough for a medal
Kenneth Cheng Man-kit came agonisingly close to winning an equestrian medal at the National Games after finishing fifth place overall in Xian, as Hong Kong narrowly missed out on another medal for a second successive day.
A day after Jason Hak Shun-yat fell shy of finishing on the podium with his fourth place in men’s golf, Cheng almost completed a fairy tale ending when he made a stirring comeback in his second session after a disappointing start in the opening round in the show jumping final.
Cheng and his rented horse Funchal conceded eight penalty points in his opening round in the morning but the pair improved out of sight to score only five penalty points in the second session. His total was just point behind the silver and bronze medallists.
Guangdong’s Liang Ruiji won gold, ahead of Xu Hao and Duan Yihua, both of Zhejiang, who finished second and third respectively.
Cheng and a Beijing rider were both on 13 penalty points but Cheng had to settle for fifth place on a slower finishing time.
