Ho loses weight to enhance Olympic hopes

Ho Chi-ho has shed five kilograms to make himself more competitive in calm conditions as he pushes to clinch a Hong Kong Olympic berth.

Four Hong Kong boardsailors resume their battle to claim the berth tomorrow when the RSX world championships begin in Auckland, New Zealand.

Ho secured the spot for the SAR at the world sailing championships in Cascais, Portugal, in July last year, but Chan King-yin leads after beating his rivals in the Hong Kong qualifying race at the Asian Championships in Bangkok in November - the first of four qualifiers. Only races in conditions under nine knots count in the SAR's Olympic selection process as light winds are expected in Qingdao, the sailing venue for the games.

The other two in contention are Cheng Kwok-fai, and Ma Kwok-po. All four are in Auckland.

'They have to work hard in every race because only individual race results count, not the overall rankings,' said Dennis Chau Wai-keung, executive director of the Hong Kong Windsurfing Association.

Chau said although Ho won the Asian Championships overall, he lost to Chan in the qualifying race and had to therefore settle for second place in the selection battle.