Oscar Coggins had twin-reasons for celebration following his latest medal-winning performance on Saturday, the Hongkonger’s Asia Triathlon Super Sprint Elite championship bronze earning him a crack at Asian Games redemption later this year.

It is barely three years since Coggins, 33rd in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, withdrew during the Games race in Hangzhou because he was “in really bad mental shape”.

One of the city’s most formidable athletes, Coggins returned from a six-month break to steadily re-establish himself as Hong Kong’s leading performer; a status he underlined in Xuzhou over the weekend.

The 26-year-old was alone among his team in claiming the podium spot needed to automatically qualify for the Games in Japan.

“Oscar was outstanding, especially over a distance that isn’t his forte and one we haven’t done much work on,” Andrew Wright, the Hong Kong head coach, said.

“Being on the podium is another step in the right direction and great for confidence, as well as ranking points.”