Badminton is the most popular sport in Hong Kong, according to a preliminary survey conducted by the Hongkong Sports Development Board (SDB).
The SDB has launched a territory-wide survey, titled Sports Participation in Hong Kong, which will be carried out in four stages this year.
The survey is aimed at providing sports associations and the commercial sector with guidelines for future sports planning and development.
The first survey polled 1,163 Hong Kong residents aged 15 years and older. Of the 55 listed sports and leisure activities, badminton was gauged as most popular; it also topped the ratings in a similar survey in 1993. Basketball was ranked second, followed by soccer, walking and jogging.
One encouraging result unearthed by the survey was that about 40 per cent of respondents had taken part in sporting activities in the final quarter of 1995; using these figures, it was estimated some 1.9 million people in the target age group were active in sports.
Respondents with an education level of upper-secondary or higher (aged 15 to 34) comprised the group with the highest level of sports participation.