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Nazvi Careem

WHAT'S in a name? A good deal for Hong Kong sports since it is the one issue which has caused a spark of friction with the mainland.

 Unlike their political brethren, sports leaders have enjoyed a largely cordial relationship in the countdown to the handover.

 Hong Kong will retain its sporting autonomy into the future as agreed by the mainland and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and will be able to continue competing in all major competitions, bar the Commonwealth Games, as a separate entity.

 But the blot on the landscape was Hong Kong's post-handover name.

 The Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong (ASF&OC) fought to retain the name 'Hong Kong' in post-handover sporting events, while their mainland counterparts, citing the Basic Law, insisted upon 'Hong Kong, China'.

 The ASF&OC was afraid that changing the name would threaten Hong Kong's autonomous status in world sport.

 Two-and-a-half years after the issue was first raised, at the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, the two sides finally reached a compromise, bolstered by certain guarantees from IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch - the world's most powerful sporting figure.

 The ASF&OC, after talks in June with Chinese sports minister Wu Shaozu , agreed to use 'Hong Kong, China', if it was the wish of the Hong Kong public.

 In exchange, the Hong Kong governing body would be able to use its self-designed crest during major games, which is inscribed with only 'Hong Kong', instead of the emblem of the SAR Government.

 Mr Samaranch will ratify the deal during the handover ceremonies. He is attending as one of the overseas guests.

 'My responsibility is to reach an agreement to establish an independent and autonomous Olympic committee for Hong Kong,' Mr Samaranch said.

 'The most important thing for me is that the youth of Hong Kong can take part not only in the Olympic Games, but that the IOC decision will be followed by all the international federations,' he said.

 ASF&OC president Arnaldo de O. Sales, whose efforts and high-profile reputation in international sports was a crucial factor in Hong Kong retaining its autonomy, also secured another important guarantee.

 Mr de O. Sales says the mainland's sports leaders agreed to strictly enforce a policy of non-interference and non-subordination in their dealings with Hong Kong.

 In other words, the Hong Kong body is free to make its own decisions without getting approval.

 Athletes, however, are likely to stand to the Chinese national anthem during opening and medal ceremonies under the SAR flag. Cosmetic changes apart, the other big question is how the change of sovereignty will affect the lives of Hong Kong and mainland athletes.

 Dr Dennis Whitby, the director of the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI), says it will be business as usual, with the institute continuing to develop technical and developmental exchanges with the mainland.

 The centre for excellence first established links with the mainland in 1989 when a sports physiologist from the National Research Institute of Sports Science in Beijing visited Hong Kong.

 Since then, the flow of coaches, athletes and sports scientists in both directions has increased tremendously.

 'Such links have not been developed for political expedience; they have nothing to do with the return of Hong Kong to China,' Dr Whitby, who spent three years coaching track and field in the mainland, said.

 'They reflect the fact that the HKSI and our friends and counterparts in China recognise that we have something special in common: the desire to be the best that we can.'  Dr Whitby said visiting delegations look at the HKSI's technical operations and how to combine the development of top athletes with commercial operations.

 'For our part, we must learn what has brought China from relative obscurity in the late 1970s to a top-four ranking at the 1996 Olympic Games,' he said.

 There have been fears that many high-quality mainland athletes will flood Hong Kong and eventually take over from local talent.

 But Hong Kong's separate status means the eligibility rules which governed the territory before the handover remain.

 Qualification rules vary depending on the sport and the regulations of their respective international governing bodies.

 Dr Whitby said the institute's coaches would avoid actively recruiting athletes from China but would latch on to talented sports people, as they did now, when they appeared.

 Similarly, Hong Kong athletes cannot just walk across the border and represent the mainland. So there's little danger that Hong Kong's Olympic gold medallist Lee Lai-shan will be sailing in mainland colours at the 2000 Sydney Games.

 Even the mainland's wealth of coaching talent will find it difficult to ply their knowledge in Hong Kong.

 'It is assumed that coaches from China can come into Hong Kong, wave a magic wand and produce world champions,' Dr Whitby said.

 'Unfortunately, it's not that simple. Our coaches are not merely good technicians, they are also good managers and administrators.

 '[Chinese coaches] also need to be able to work in an environment that is not supportive of elite sport; coaching in Hong Kong is not the same as in China,' he said.

 'Also, they have to adopt very precise coaching methodology to achieve success from a very small pool of athletes.'  Dr Whitby also admits that Hong Kong will continue to struggle to win medals at world level in the immediate future, Lee Lai-shan apart.

 Fittingly, the last gold medal won by Hong Kong in a major games was in a sport which has its roots in the mainland.

 Ng Siu-ching won the gold medal in wushu's nanquan discipline at the East Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea, in May.

 The irony was not lost on those who saw Ng.

 Dressed in traditional Chinese martial arts garb covered by a yellow tracksuit top, she stood before the Union Jack as it was raised and God Save the Queen was played for the last time in honour of a Hong Kong athlete at a major games.



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