Hong Kong faces an anxious wait to find out if it will have a sole Olympian competing at the Winter Games in Pyeongchang

Officials are confident that 16-year-old Arabella Ng’s place in South Korea will be ratified within days

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Arabella Ng is hoping to make it to the Pyeongchang Games. Photo: itgolf.hk

Published: 5:00pm, 11 Jan 2018Updated: 11:52am, 8 Feb 2018

Canada is preparing a mighty force of 221 competitors and North Korea will be represented after eleventh hour diplomatic talks with its neighbouring hosts, but Hong Kong’s 2018 Winter Olympics preparations have garnered considerably fewer headlines.

The city is now braced to discover for certain in the coming days whether it will have its own Olympian competing at the upcoming Games in South Korea.

City ski officials are optimistic that it is just a matter of awaiting a final confirmation that teenager Arabella Ng will compete in Alpine skiing in Pyeongchang, becoming Hong Kong’s sixth Winter Olympian.

Mikaela Shiffrin of the USA is the world’s top slalom racer currently. Photo: AFP

Samson Siu, secretary general of the Ski Association of Hong Kong, was confident that the city will have its sole representative confirmed for Korea ahead of the January 22 deadline, and says preparations can then be put in place for Ng’s return to Hong Kong from America ahead of the Opening Ceremony on February 9.

“We are working with the IOC and the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong to confirm that Arabella has qualified,” Siu said. “Usually the whole thing has to be done by January 22 and we’re working on it.”