Hong Kong teams get the message over Asian Games
HONG Kong is likely to be represented in only one team sport in this year's Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan.
Adopting a tough selection policy, the territory's ruling sports body - the Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong - are set to allow only the men's football team into the 12th Asiad.
This follows warnings from the ASF & OC president, A. de O. Sales, that team sports must prove they are competitive at regional level before being permitted to enter.
It is understood that basketball, volleyball and handball all expressed interest in attending the Asian Games but have been ruled out, while the door has not been closed totally on the women's football team.
''Some team sports have been very quietly informed it was not on,'' said Sales.
''In Asia now there is a new ball game because we have five ex-Soviet republics competing for the first time and they will bring very high standards of performance with them.
''The standards are not the old Asian standards.'' Hong Kong sent a 274-strong delegation to the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing at a cost of more than $5 million and were represented in 20 sports.
As well as the men's and women's football teams, Hong Kong also competed in hockey, handball, basketball, water polo and volleyball. In no way did their results justify the expense, however, and team sports were warned that they would have to improve their standards if they were to be allowed to travel to Hiroshima for the '94 Asiad, which runs from October 2-16.
Early figures suggest the territory will be represented in 15 of the 34 sports on the Hiroshima programme - athletics, badminton, tenpin bowling, canoeing, cycling, fencing, football (men), gymnastics, judo, rowing, shooting, swimming (including diving but not water polo), table tennis, wushu and yachting.
''I think it is a fairly good representative list,'' added Sales.
''Some of them will be only a token entry but others will do pretty well. Hong Kong must wake up to the fact that the Asian Games are different to what they were last time.
''The competition will be much stronger because Asian countries are developing their sport and there will be the infusion of new talent from the five Soviet republics.'' A total of 43 countries will send around 7,300 athletes to Hiroshima. The five National Olympic Committees from the former Soviet Union recognised for the first time by the Olympic Council of Asia are Kazakhstan, Kyrghyzstan, Tadjikistan, Turkmenistan andUzbekistan.
The Hong Kong Hockey Association set an example to other team sports by saying they would not be entering a men's or women's team for Hiroshima.
The association's president, Con Conway, who is also a vice-president of the ASF & OC, said: ''We cannot keep saying we are sending teams for the experience because the cost is rather high - and when you go there you have to get a result, or make a big improvement.
''In Beijing we ended up as cannon fodder for the likes of India and Pakistan.
''The hockey association are looking to host a second-tier Asian tournament involving six countries in September.
''We hope to invite Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh, Macau and maybe Indonesia. If we can do well at that level, then you can think about progressing.'' The Commonwealth Games will take place in Victoria, British Columbia, from August 18-28 and Sales said the territory would be represented by a team of around 90 in seven sports - athletics, badminton, lawn bowls, cycling, gymnastics, shooting and swimming, which also includes diving.
The ASF & OC have set a January 24 deadline for entries for the Commonwealth Games.
Sales, meanwhile, is set to be re-elected unopposed as president of the ASF & OC for another two-year term of office at their annual meeting on February 3.
