Badminton star Yip Pui-yin is expecting a campaign even tougher than the one she fought at the Olympics when she makes her debut at the National Games in Shandong province next month.
Yip, one of the five Hong Kong athletes invited for the Games torch relay at Kowloon Park yesterday, said: 'The National Games feature top players from all over the nation, and most of them have the quality to appear at the Olympic Games but cannot because of the quota system.
'It is not uncommon to see Olympic medallists suffer early exits in the competition,' she said.
Yip, who has qualified in both the team and singles events, is also concerned about refereeing. Four years ago at the 10th National Games, fellow Hongkonger Wang Chen abandoned her bronze medal play-off in protest against a series of match calls she felt were dubious.
'These kinds of things always happen in the National Games and you have to face it,' Yip said.
The Hong Kong women's team comprises world number one Zhou Mi, Wang, Yip, Chow Hoi-wah, Koon Wai-chi and up-and-comers Chan Tze-ka and Chan Hung-yung.