Lee Ho-yin enjoyed an impressive run at the Motor City Open in Detroit, winning a bronze medal in the men’s singles after narrowly missing out on a place in the final as cramp took hold in a gruelling semi of the PSA World Tour event.

Lee was beaten by his regular training partner, Steve Coppinger of South Africa, 11-9, 5-11, 8-11, 11-8, 7-11 in a match that lasted a torturous 79 minutes.

There was little to separate the two until the deciding fifth game, when Lee began cramping severely; though he fought through the excruciating pain to take a 5-3 lead, eventually he succumbed as Coppinger took eight of the next 10 points to win.

“I started cramping in the fourth around 4-2. Between the fourth and fifth I pressed my muscles to not make them tight, but at 2-1 in the fifth I started cramping again until the end,” Lee said.

“It’s a shame to lose this game. It’s the first time I really cried on the court. I could hardly stand, move or serve. My hands and arms were cramping, as well. My whole body was cramping.”

Coppinger, who had upset two players ranked above him on his way to the semis, was stunned by the bravery shown by Lee.

“What a performance [by him] and he still almost won it. I couldn’t believe it,” Coppinger said. “I sympathise with him hugely but at the same time I couldn’t because I knew what he was still capable of. I had to stay focused on my own game because he was dangerous even in that state.”

Despite a disappointing finish to the tournament, Lee could still count himself happy with a bronze medal performance at the International 70 level event, especially after he got past Amr Shabana, a former world No.1, in the first round.

“Max played very well in Detroit,” said HKSI Head Squash Coach Tony Choi. “It was a very close-fought semi ... he was cramping from the fourth game. A day before in the quarters, he also staged an impressive comeback from a leg cramp to prevail over the fifth seed Omar Mosaad from Egypt in five games.”

And there was further good news for Hong Kong squash in January with some impressive displays from upcoming talents in the Asian Junior Team Championships in Kuala Lumpur. The girls’ team (Cheng Nga-ching, Choi Uen-shan, Ho Ka-wing and Lui Hiu-lam) came back from Malaysia with a silver medal, while the boys’ team (Lau Tsz-kwan, Chris Lo Cheuk-hin, Ng Ka-yiu and Yuen Tsun-hei) won bronze.

Coach Choi was especially pleased with the girls’ performance, and singled out Lui for very high praise.

“It was a very close fight for the girls, who only lost 2-1 to Malaysia, in five games in the deciding match.

“Lui Hiu-lam, aged 15, our no.3, was performing very well and very consistently throughout the tournament and won the critical deciding match for the team in the pool match against India.

“With her young age, I believe she should have lots of potential to develop and be a backbone player for the Hong Kong team.”

Lee Wai-sze earned some valuable qualification points on the road to the Rio Olympics with a bronze medal at the final leg of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup series held from 16 to 18 February in Cali, Colombia.

London 2012 bronze medallist Lee beat Sandie Clair of France in the bronze medal showdown of the elite women’s sprint to ensure she didn’t end the series without a podium place.

Hong Kong’s team had undergone some altitude training in Kunming with an eye on the Cali event and it seemed to pay off as they showed much improvement.

The Hong Kong table tennis team enjoyed a hugely successful trip to Budapest, Hungary for the GAC Group ITTF World Tour, Hungary Open held from 28 January to 1 February 2015, coming back with 2 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal.

Jiang Tianyi, the second seed, won the men’s title with a spirited display against Jeong Sangeun of Korea, the third seed, fending off a recovery from Jeong to triumph 11-4, 11-9, 11-3, 10-12, 5-11, 10-12, 11-3. It was the second time Jiang has won a ITTF singles title, having had more success in doubles.

Ho Kwan-kit took gold in the men’s under-21 singles, while there were silver medals for Lee Ho-ching in the women’s singles and Jiang Huajun and Li Ching-wan in the women’s doubles, and a bronze for Doo Hoi-kem in the women’s under-21 singles.

Hong Kong dominated the podium in the men’s RS:One category at the SIM 34^th Singapore Open RS:One Asian Windsurfing Championships held from 21 to 25 January 2015 in Singapore, as Cheng Kwok-fai added that crown to his world title and Lee Chun-ting finished third.

Cheng was simply unbeatable, winning 10 of the 12 races during the five-day event, which attracted 100 entries from 10 countries, including Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand.

Karatedo athlete Lau Mo-sheung won a bronze medal in the Senior Female Individual Kata event at the Karate1 Premier League - Paris held on 24 - 25 January 2015 in Paris, France.