Letters | Free broadcast of Tokyo Olympics in Hong Kong will lift spirits and strengthen Chinese national identity

Name: Inside China’s gymnastics school that churns out Olympic champions
Uploaded: 2021-05-16T00:15:12.000Z
Duration: 3 min 13 s
Description: Inside China’s gymnastics school that churns out Olympic champions

Hongkongers can look forward not only to some exciting sporting displays, but also the opportunity to foster a sense of belonging by cheering on athletes from the Hong Kong and national teams

Reading Time:2 minutes

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Rower Winnie Hung will make her Olympic debut in Tokyo this summer. The Hong Kong government did well to secure the broadcasting rights to Tokyo 2020. Photo: Rowing Association of Hong Kong, China

Letters

Published: 8:15am, 16 May 2021Updated: 8:15am, 16 May 2021

I must applaud the Hong Kong government for securing the broadcasting rights to Tokyo 2020 and making the Olympics freely accessible to Hong Kong viewers. The Tokyo games are a not-to-be-missed extravaganza for sports fans in Hong Kong, who have been waiting patiently since the event was postponed due to the pandemic.

Broadcasting the games is an effortless way to promote sports among the local population, as the event is being held in an Asian city this year. Fans need not wake up in the middle of the night to watch the competitions, so viewership is guaranteed. What better way to promote sports than engaging Hongkongers in an international sporting event featuring the best athletes from around the globe?

The freely available Olympic Games also mean children can be motivated to develop an active lifestyle. The alarming results of a recent survey reveal that kids have become more physically inactive amid Covid-19 (“Coronavirus: Hong Kong children have packed on the pounds during pandemic, survey finds”, May 11). Being able to watch the Olympics could be a game changer in the sense that children may try to emulate their sporting idols by exercising more.

We cannot wait to cheer on the Hong Kong athletes who have secured an entry ticket to Tokyo 2020. China will also have many elite athletes taking part, and they will probably win several individual and team medals in sports such as table tennis, gymnastics, swimming and volleyball, which Chinese athletes have traditionally excelled at.

03:13

Inside China’s gymnastics school that churns out Olympic champions

I still vividly remember cheering hard for the Chinese men’s basketball team and the women’s volleyball team during the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

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.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Letters | Free broadcast of Tokyo Olympics in Hong Kong will lift spirits and strengthen Chinese national identity

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Hongkongers can look forward not only to some exciting sporting displays, but also the opportunity to foster a sense of belonging by cheering on athletes from the Hong Kong and national teams

Letters | Free broadcast of Tokyo Olympics in Hong Kong will lift spirits and strengthen Chinese national identity

Hongkongers can look forward not only to some exciting sporting displays, but also the opportunity to foster a sense of belonging by cheering on athletes from the Hong Kong and national teams