Lee will join the three other riders in both individual and team jumping at the equestrian venues, while 23-year-old Wu, champion of the 2005 Tour of the South China Sea race, will aim to become the first Hong Kong rider to finish the road-race after Hung Chung-yam in the amateur era at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Lee, who has lived in Hong Kong for 13 years, said in May she had applied for a passport and was 'confident she could get it in time'.

She is training in Europe with her teammates - Cheng Man-kit, Patrick Lam and Samantha Lam - and will return to Hong Kong early next month.

Their horses will arrive on August 4 for the first day of team competition at Sha Tin on August 15, the day after the Games opening ceremony. They all passed the Olympic test at a special qualifier in Hagen, Germany, in May.

Hong Kong Equestrian Federation (HKEF) secretary-general Soenke Lauterbach said last night it was 'fantastic' news that Lee had cleared the final hurdle.

'We haven't done anything. [Getting a passport] was a personal thing,' Lauterbach said. 'She had to do it all and as far as I understand it was through the normal process. She had to do whatever anyone would have to do. For us, all that matters is that it happened in time and it was successful.

'It was an adventure from the start and it's fantastic that we have these four. It is what we had hoped for and we now have the optimum result, which is a competitive team,' said Lauterbach.

The squad is only slightly bigger than the 33-strong team sent to Athens four years ago - marathon runner Maggie Chan Man-yee pulled out due to an injury - but Hong Kong Olympic Committee secretary-general Pang Chung said it was quality that mattered.

'The athletes have to go through tough qualifiers before they can make it to Beijing,' said Pang. 'Indeed, size is not the major concern if they can achieve some results for Hong Kong.'

Wu, who is competing in the Tour of the Qinghai Lake, beat out teammates Tang Wang-yip and Lam Kai-tsun for the final spot. 'We have considered the training report of the riders and have assessed their performance over the past eight months before we made the decision,' said Wong Yiu-wah, cycling team manager for the Games.

Wu was signed to pro team Lampre-Fondital of Italy in the 2006 summer - the first Hong Kong rider to be given such an opportunity. He faces a daunting task in the gruelling 245km race, which takes the cyclists to the mountains of Ju Yong Guan next to the Great Wall.

Pang said the two table tennis team events, and the women's singles in badminton, would be Hong Kong's key medal hopes, while windsurfers Chan King-yin and Vicky Chan Wai-kei were chances if the light winds continued to blow in Qingdao.

The two Chans will leave for Qingdao on Monday to complete their final preparations.

'We are in full preparation following a series of intensive training sessions at the Olympic venue in Qingdao and in Hong Kong,' said coach Rene Appel.

'With the help of the Sports Institute's sports science department, the two windsurfers are reaching their best form.'

Chan King-yin said: 'We certainly have an advantage under light wind conditions which prevail in Qingdao at this time.

'But the Europeans are always strong and they have also been working hard in these conditions. I won't set any medal targets and just enjoy the competition and hope the results will come.'