THE father of a local karatedo champion who died after a tournament said yesterday that the sport's association should have refused to let his son compete in five rounds of hard contact competition in one day.
Immigration assistant Chou Chien-hung, 23, collected two trophies at a ceremony after the bouts in a Kwai Chung middle school on November 22 last year, but felt too sick to attend the photo session and died in hospital three weeks later.
Although Mr Chao Tak-ming admitted his son had taken part of his own volition, he said the association had the right to stop him taking part in so many rounds in a single day.
''Although it seems that a two-minute round is only a short period, a person becomes exhausted when such a large amount of energy is being utilised,'' he said.
A jury sitting before Coroner Rodney Venning returned a unanimous verdict of death by misadventure. Chien-hung died in Queen Elizabeth Hospital on December 16 from cerebral contusion, oedema and broncho-pneumonia.
Chien-hung, a brown belt holder, is the first player to sustain fatal injuries during a local competition organised by the 400-member Hongkong Karatedo Hard Contact Association. Karatedo is a form of karate in which the combatants wear body and head protectors.
Officials of the association told the South China Morning Post they were considering changes to tournament rules which would restrict the number of bouts and the classes in which a player could participate.
