Organisers of the East Asian Games will press for Liu Xiang's participation in December after the former Olympic champion's impressive return to competition. Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, chairman of the planning committee of the Games and Hong Kong Olympic Committee president, said they had requested that Liu appear at the first multi-games event to be staged in Hong Kong and would keep the heat on mainland authorities. 'He is definitely on top of the most-wanted-stars list for the Games, especially after his impressive performance in Shanghai on Sunday night,' said Fok. Liu, 26, was beaten in a photo finish in his highly anticipated first race since his withdrawal from the Olympics last year because of an Achilles tendon injury. 'I am so happy to see Liu is back in top form and I am sure all sports fans in Hong Kong share the same wish of watching him in action in December's Games,' Fok said. Fok said he spoke to Yu Zaiqing, vice-minister of the Sports General Administration of China, regarding representation in the EAG when Yu was in town for the Games' 100-day countdown ceremony. 'Yu reassured me China will be sending a strong squad to Hong Kong, but I know they are busy with the preparations for next month's National Games. I hope they can finalise the list by the end of September with Liu's name on it,' he said. 'Liu has indicated his participation in next month's National Games in Shandong and it is natural to want to see him compete in Hong Kong in December as part of his comeback,' Fok said. Fok said the East Asian Games would be a high-level competition, although the number of entries could hardly compare with the scale of the Olympics or Asian Games. 'All participating countries are taking the Games very seriously and I know South Korea will be sending a delegation of over 500 members,' he said. 'With the mainland also sending a strong squad and Japan always a force to be reckoned with, it will be interesting to see these international powerhouses compete here.' Although China have yet to name their squad, it is believed they will send a strong 600-plus delegation. Fok said International Olympic Committee president Dr Jacques Rogge would be the guest of honour as a gesture of support to Hong Kong. 'Rogge is going to be re-elected unopposed as the IOC president for another four-year term at Copenhagen's IOC Congress in early October. He has agreed to come to Hong Kong as our honourable guest, which shows how important the Games is on the world sporting stage,' said Fok. A spokeswoman for the EAG Company said yesterday almost 80 per cent of track and field public tickets had been sold. 'There are about 1,200 tickets left for public sale for the four-day event,' she said.
