Hong Kong will send about 580 athletes to compete across 38 sports at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games this month, with delegation officials acknowledging that the absence of a conventional athletes’ village and widely dispersed venues will pose a significant logistical challenge.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu presented the SAR flag to the Hong Kong, China delegation at a ceremony at New Town Plaza in Sha Tin on Tuesday, ahead of the Games from September 19 to October 4.
The full delegation will comprise more than 800 members, including athletes and support personnel. Hong Kong won a record 53 medals at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou — eight gold, 16 silver and 29 bronze.
Lee said Hong Kong athletes had repeatedly delivered strong performances at the Asian Games and encouraged them to carry the fighting spirit shown at last year’s National Games onto the regional stage.
“I believe everyone will be able to carry forward the fighting spirit of giving your all at last year’s National Games, compete at your very best on the Asian stage and strive for more outstanding results, bringing further glory to the country and Hong Kong,” Lee said.
He added that the resilience shown by Hong Kong athletes represented the city’s spirit and could transcend language and cultural barriers to demonstrate confidence and soft power, as well as “tell China’s story and Hong Kong’s story well.”
Lee said government funding for the Hong Kong Sports Institute had increased by more than 30 percent over the past five years, with continued support covering athlete training, sports medicine and sports science.
Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China president Timothy Fok Tsun-ting said the Games being staged across multiple cities would add to the challenges facing the delegation.
“The SF&OC will draw on its many years of experience to continue serving as a strong backing for our athletes, taking care of every detail so that they can focus on competing, perform to their fullest and strive for the best results,” Fok said.
Meanwhile, the delegation’s chef de mission Wong Po-kee, said Hong Kong’s 580 athletes represented a smaller squad than the 681 sent to Hangzhou, partly because some sports in which Hong Kong won medals at the previous Games are not represented by the city this time.
He said the delegation hoped to achieve results broadly comparable with those in Hangzhou.
Accommodation will be among the biggest challenges, according to Wong. With no conventional athletes’ village, competitors and officials will be housed across different facilities, including a cruise ship, temporary accommodation and hotels.
“The competition venues are very spread out this time, so we cannot provide services to athletes centrally in an athletes’ village,” Wong said. “We will need to deploy considerable manpower to support them, and that is a major challenge.”
He added that organizers originally expected around 15,000 participants but registrations reached about 17,000, putting additional pressure on accommodation. Hong Kong officials would do their best to ensure athletes had suitable places to rest, he said.
Olympic champion Edgar Cheung Ka-long, who won the men’s individual foil title at the Hangzhou Asian Games, is meanwhile targeting a breakthrough in the team event.
Cheung said the Hong Kong foil team would take confidence from its silver medal at the recent world championships into Nagoya.
“We hope to win gold in the team event because we have already won silver and bronze before. Hopefully we can make a breakthrough this time,” he said.
On defending his individual title, Cheung said he was not putting additional pressure on himself and would “just let things take their course.”
Fellow fencer Ryan Choi Chun-yin, who recently returned from injury, said he would take a more conservative approach to training during the final two weeks before the Games to ensure he arrives in the best possible physical condition.
Under the Jockey Club Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme, Hong Kong athletes who win individual gold, silver or bronze medals at the Games will receive cash rewards, with an individual gold medal worth HK$1 million and a team gold worth HK$2 million.
To mark the SF&OC’s 75th anniversary and rally support for the delegation, Asian Games promotional activities will be held at New Town Plaza from Wednesday to September 6, followed by another event at apm in Kwun Tong from September 11 to 13. The Hong Kong delegation’s new uniforms will also be displayed at New Town Plaza.
