Wong deserves applause for putting reputation on the line

Hallelujah! Finally, we have someone in a position of power who is willing to be accountable, someone who is willing to put their head in the noose if things don't work out as they had planned.

Thank you Ronnie Wong Man-chiu, deputy secretary general of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee, for stepping up. As the secretary of the selection committee, Wong and his people are in charge of selecting the team who will represent Hong Kong in the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar, from December 1 to 15. The games will feature 45 countries competing in 39 events.

Some of you may remember these were the very same Asian Games Hong Kong had bid for six years ago. The bid included a proposal to sink HK$200 million into upgrading a number of antiquated and decrepit sports facilities. Doha countered with a bid that would outlay US$2.8 billion on the games. Guess who got them?

But just to show there were no hard feelings, the sports authorities in Hong Kong decided to fully accept their hosts' generosity. For the first time, games' organisers have arranged to cover most costs, including accommodation and meals, for all the competing delegations. Hong Kong will be sending a record contingent of close to 400, including 281 athletes, 87 officials and assorted administrative and medical personnel.

This type of contingent would lead one to believe Hong Kong is either a sporting colossus or the ultimate freeloader. Yet despite the size of the group, tough decisions still had to be made. According to Wong, only the creme de la creme of athletes were invited.

'We are using taxpayers' money and we are responsible for the standard of the athletes we send,' he said. 'All sports and athletes have to meet strict selection guidelines.'

Now as you can see through both his statements and his actions, Wong is putting his reputation on the line and I applaud him for that. In about two months we will know how our athletes fared and we can judge him and his cohorts accordingly.