Asian Games 2023: How Hangzhou Volunteers Went Through Garbage Bags To Find A Chess Player's Lost Mobile

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Hong Kong's 12-year-old Chess player Liu Tian-yi had thought she lost her mobile during Saturday's Asian Games 2023 opening ceremony at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, but volunteers accomplished an impossible mission.

The young Hong Kong athlete was filled with the excitement of attending her first large-scale international event - the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games, where she was welcomed by the cheering crowd and took her seat in anticipation of the performance.

But just when the excitement level had reached it's peak, a sinking feeling arrived as Liu realized that her mobile phone was missing. Liu remembered that after dinner at the Tennis Centre, she had left her phone in a bag, which she felt had been discarded as rubbish.

She recalled where she may have lost the phone, but in a quest for the search, the downside was the mobile was turned off and couldn't be reached by calling. However, with the help of her team leader Geoffrey Edward Kao, who approached a volunteer team, the phone was found.

Kao hesitated to start a search during the ceremony, but minutes later felt that it was important to help his young compatriot find her phone. So, minutes after hesitation, Kao met the volunteer team in the arena and explained the situation.

The volunteer team immediately contacted the work staff at the tennis center and were assured that the team there would do their best to assist. But how could it be possible to locate a lost mobile phone that is turned off in a stadium of 523,000 square meters with around 10,000 seats?

"No one had an ounce of optimism for getting the phone back", Kao was quoted as saying by China Daily. Of course, it was against the odds, but less than 24 hours later around 3 PM on Sunday (September 24) afternoon, the volunteer team contacted Kao, to inform the phone had been found!

It was an incredible story and an impossible mission accomplished as the Hangzhou social media account posted on X, formerly Twitter on Tuesday (September 26) morning.

"Mission accomplished. Locating a lost mobile phone that is turned off in a stadium of 523,000 square meters with around 10,000 seats sounds impossible, but Hangzhou Asian Games made it happen," the post read.

"A group of volunteers sifted through tens of thousands of rubbish bags throughout the night and helped 12-year-old Liu Tian-yi, a chess player for Hong Kong, China, find her lost device. And it's done in less than 24 hours."

The young chess player made a video expressing her heartfelt appreciation as she said to volunteers, "Your enthusiasm makes me feel at home. I can feel the warmth from Hangzhou."