Asian Games volunteers answer 12-year-old’s call for help

HANGZHOU – It was an incredible team effort that deserved a gold medal.

Perhaps tougher than hitting the bull’s eye from 50 metres or trying to get out of a submission move, a group of Asiad volunteers “sifted through tens of thousands of rubbish bags throughout the night” to help a young Hong Kong athlete retrieve her mobile phone. The incident was reported on the official Asian Games’ X (formerly known as Twitter) account.

On Saturday night, chess player Liu Tian Yi attended the opening ceremony at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium and panic and dread set in when she realised she had lost her phone.

The 12-year-old recalled that she had left her phone in a dinner bag at the nearby tennis centre, which served as a holding area for athletes before the opening ceremony. She told her team leader Geoffrey Kao about her mishap.

Considering how distraught the pre-teen – who is at her first Games – was, he approached the tennis centre staff for assistance.

Thus began the challenge of searching the 523,000 sq m, 10,000-seater facility for a phone that was not even switched on.

“No one had an ounce of optimism for getting the phone back,” said Kao.

Incredibly, mission impossible became mission accomplished, as the volunteer team contacted Kao at 3pm on Sunday to let him know that the phone had been found in less than 24 hours.

To the unsung heroes, Tian Yi, who won twice and drew once in nine rounds of the women’s individual event, said: “Your enthusiasm makes me feel at home. I can feel the warmth from Hangzhou.”

A grateful Kenneth Fok, who is the head of the Hong Kong delegation, added: “I admire the professionalism and sincerity shown by the operation team and volunteers.

“So many volunteers spent a lot of time on this hunt, their dedicated service moves me a lot, and I salute them.”