Games delay could turn out to be a blessing in disguise
High-jumper Priscilla Cheung among HK athletes who now have more time to win a place in squad
Hong Kong athletics bosses believe the decision to postpone the Hangzhou Asian Games in September could be a blessing in disguise for the likes of highjumper Priscilla Cheung Ching-laam.
Cheung won her event on her 21st birthday yesterday at the Hong Kong Athletics Series 2022, clearing a height of 1.70 metres, some way short of her personal best of 1.76m.
Cheung, who also came first in last weekend’s trial event at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground with a jump of 1.75m, said: “I aimed to jump higher than I did last week at the Hong Kong Trial, so I trained even harder, and my back started hurting last Thursday.
“My back didn’t bother me much today, but when I tried 1.74m, my left ankle hurt, but I don’t think it’s a big deal; hopefully, with a break next week, I’ll have a good jump in the middle of this month.”
Chung Wai-yan finished second with a leap of 1.70m on her third attempt, while Wong Yuennam finished third with a leap of 1.65m.
Yesterday’s event was intended to give athletes a chance to prove themselves before the city’s Olympic Committee finalised the squad for the Games.
Simon Yeung Sai-mo, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Athletics Affiliates, said the qualification deadline would be revised, and with no new date for the Games set he hoped athletes would take the opportunity to prove themselves.
“We hope that all of our athletes can provide the most recent performance for us to consider; if the Asian Games are postponed to next year, we will set up some qualification events for our athletes to show their abilities,” Yeung said.
Athletics officials have submitted a list of 31 competitors for the Games to Olympic Committee, but Yeung believes the postponement could mean more reach the qualifying standards.
Cheung was certainly happy about the delay, and said it would give her time to recover from some minor injuries and “ease up for the upcoming events”.
With only two competitors from the same country allowed in the Games’ high jump, there are more than four female highjumpers vying for those spots, including Hong Kong record holder (1.88m) Cecilia Yeung Man-wai, Tiffany Tang Yi-ching, Lai Yan-hei, and Cheung, who wants to clear 1.80m soon.
Marathon runner Vut Tszying, who finished first in the women’s 10,000m run yesterday in a time of 37 minutes and 49.49 seconds, also welcomed the postponement.
A primary school teacher, Vut had no marathon results to back up her claim for a place in the squad. Now she thinks the door may have opened for her.
“When I heard about the postponement, I thought maybe it was a chance for me to try the Asian Games,” she said.
“If the quarantine restrictions are lifted in the future, I plan to fly out on weekends to run some marathons.”
Young hurdlers Rico Cheung Siu-hang and Shing Cho-yan, who won the men’s and women’s 110m respectively, believed the day would give them more time to get experience competing against senior athletes for the two entries on offer.
It the Asian Games are postponed to next year, we will set up some qualification events
SIMON YENUNG, OF THE HONG KONG ASSOCIATION OF ATHLETICS AFFILIATES