A SURVEY by a leading Hong Kong business college claims that over half the territory's top athletes train for only 12 hours or less a week - and that nearly a quarter of them spend only half that time a week in training.
But the results, which were published yesterday, produced an angry response from two of Hong Kong's leading coaches.
The survey was funded by the Hong Kong Baptist College Faculty Research Grant and conducted by a Department of Physical Education lecturer, Patrick Chan Ping-cheung, and an assistant lecturer of the Department of Marketing at the Baptist College, William Chong Kam-fu.
A total of 325 athletes from 15 sports took part in the survey, with 77 First Division basketball players and 111 First Division footballers providing almost 60 per cent of the samples.
The survey claims that: It takes five years, on average, for local athletes to be promoted to elite level.
More than half the athletes spend 12 hours or less a week training and a quarter spend six hours or less.
More than 60 per cent of elite athletes feel that sport is not a top priority for the Hong Kong Government.