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SCMP Reporter

HONGKONG will send 77 athletes to the inaugural East Asian Games in Shanghai - about half the number that was originally expected.

 Out of the 12 sports featured in the Games the territory will compete in nine - athletics, badminton, boxing, gymnastics, judo, rowing, swimming (and diving), ten-pin bowling and wushu.

  There will be no Hongkong teams taking part in basketball, soccer or weightlifting.

  The Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hongkong (ASF & OC) have submitted the provisional entry list of 41 sportsmen and 36 sportswomen to the Games organising committee.

 Lai Yu-wing, assistant honorary secretary of the ASF & OC, said badminton, bowling and wushu had applied to send the biggest teams of 12 players each - six men and six women.

   The Hongkong Amateur Swimming Association have asked for 11 places but their intended squad of six men and five women also includes divers.

   Judo and athletics wish to send four men and four women each while the rowing team will comprise three men and three women and the gymnastics team two men and two women.

 Hongkong will be sending four men for the boxing.

  The number of officials accompanying the athletes has not been confirmed but the entire Hongkong contingent is expected to be slightly more than 100-strong and will cost about $1.5 million.

  The Sports Development Board will finance 90 per cent of the total cost.

  The SDB's director of development services, Mick Aitken, said the provisional list was in line with their own expectations.

   ''The numbers given are within our budget,'' said Aitken. ''We feel that is a realistic amount and what the SDB were expecting.

   ''We understand that we can't be represented by soccer or basketball because it would be difficult for those sports with other commitments.''    Aitken said that the ASF & OC had agreed to the screening system adopted for this year's Olympics in selecting the final squad.

   ''The ASF & OC will submit the names to the SDB and Hongkong Sports Institute for our comments before making their final decision.''    The SDB and Hongkong Sports Institute played a key role in providing information on the form and training of athletes who were selected for the Barcelona Olympics.

   The territory's top hopes for a medal are expected to be in wushu, where the team includes world nanquan (southern boxing) champion Leung Yat-ho and world-renowned woman players Ng Siu-ching and Li Fai.

   Leung's only major rival is his former Guangdong teammate He Qiang, the 1990 Beijing Asian Games gold medallist, who was surprisingly left out of the Chinese team for last year's World Championships.

   Women's nanquan exponent Ng and changquan (long boxing) player Li were also medal winners at the world tournament and their main rivals will again be the mainland Chinese.

   Another sport in which Hongkong are most likely to pick up a medal or two is ten-pin bowling as their only real opposition will come from Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

   Other countries likely to take part in ten-pin bowling are China and Guam, but their standards are low compared to those in Hongkong. The sport is not played in North Korea, Mongolia and Macau.

   The Chinese Government have invested more than US$20 million in upgrading Shanghai's existing sports facilities and arenas in preparation for the Games, which will be held from May 9-18.

   Chinese officials are using the event as a showcase to prove to the world they have the ability to efficiently organise a multi-sport meeting and they are banking on its success to help Beijing's bid for the 2000 Olympics.

   More than 2,000 athletes and officials are expected to converge on Shanghai for the Games and the presidents of 23 National Olympic Committees will be there to watch.

   International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch will officiate at the opening ceremony, marking the first time he has made an official appearance at a regional sports meeting.



HK unveil 77-strong squad for Shanghai