HK hopefuls eye London Olympics
Hong Kong paddlers start their quest for a 2012 London Olympics berth at the Egypt Open in Cairo today. Li Ching is seeded first in the men's singles draw, while compatriot Jiang Tianyi is second. Another Hong Kong player, Leung Chu-yan, is third.
'This is a good opportunity for our players to grab valuable ranking points because of the absence of many top players from the region,' coach Chan Kong-wah said. 'We want to boost our players' world rankings as they will need to go through a tough qualifier for the London Games.'
The world governing body has changed the quota system for the 2012 Olympic Games, allowing a country to send a maximum of two players - as opposed to three for the Beijing Olympics - for the singles competition in London.
The top 28 qualifiers are to be determined by their world rankings and the rest of the field of about 40 players is to be filled mainly through the continental qualification system.
'The qualification through world rankings will be ended by May next year and our players need to achieve the required standings, or they will have to compete in the continental qualifiers,' Chan said.
Tang Peng, who is now playing for the Ningbo team in the China Super League and did not go to Cairo, is the highest ranked player from Hong Kong at 17th, followed by Li (25), Cheung Yuk (26), Ko Lai-chak (33) and Jiang (48).
The top players from the mainland and South Korea are involved in the China Super League and are not available for the Pro tour.
Hong Kong's top two women - Jiang Huajun and Tie Yana, are playing in the China Super League campaign, leaving Lin Ling, Zhang Rui and Yu Kwok-see to compete in the Egypt Open.
Lin missed the world team championships in Moscow in May due to her studies, but is back in the team vying for a place in this year's Asian Games squad.
