by sportswriters Yao Youming and Chen Di

SHENZHEN, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- None of the archers - Lai Seng Kit, Wong Tak Chi and Wu Man Hon - from Macao had managed to make it to the knockout stage in the men's recurve at China's 15th National Games.

They believed, however, their journey at the Games could be a new beginning for Macao archery and an opportunity to promote sports communication among Macao, Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.

Lai, born in 1996, finished 66th with 585 points in the preliminaries, which attracted 68 archers.

"I can have around 630 points in training. The performance is below my expectations. Competing with the best archers from all over China made me feel nervous," Lai told Xinhua.

As one of the three host regions, Macao had the chance to compete in archery's final stage of the National Games as debutants. When Lai received the good news, he participated in a summer camp held in South Korea in August and requested leave from his company to prepare for the big event earlier this month.

"However, due to a lack of stress management training in recent months, my performance wasn't ideal. Still, I believe the experience will make me stronger for future competitions," he said.

In recent years, Macao officials have collaborated with the University of Macao to promote archery. Grassroots archers can join the university's archery club for a small fee and receive training.

Hong Kong and Guangzhou regularly host commercial archery events to promote communication among archers from Macao, Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.

"I participate in about four or five events in Hong Kong each year and travel to the mainland twice as an archer. These competitions help me identify my shortcomings," Wong said.

"At the National Games, I realized I couldn't control my pace well, and my physical condition is not as good as my competitors. I plan to improve these aspects after the Games," he noted.

This time, Wong's opponents included defending champion Wei Shaoxuan and 14-year-old Chu Bingkun.

"Archery is suitable for teenagers, young players and the middle-aged people. If the middle-aged player works on technique and physical strength, he could compete with the younger archers," said Wong.

"If I had started my archery career when I was a child, I could have been a better player."

Wong's wife has been taking care of their baby and family, giving him more time to focus on preparing for the big event.

"If my family allows, I will continue competing," Wong said.

"I hope my child will love the sport. We could turn it into a family activity, it would be interesting," he added. Enditem