Courting controversy: Hong Kong ping-pong centre ordered to close
Angry ping-pong players say they will be left with nowhere to train, as Lands Department orders closure of facility in industrial building
The imminent closure of a ping-pong training centre in an industrial building in Tai Wai has sparked concerns from players and coaches, who have called on the government to find a proper space to train future athletes.
A total of 200 players, including youngsters and adults, and a dozen coaches, are set to lose their regular training courts in On Ho Industrial Building, as Ping Pong Savantas has been ordered to cease operation before June 19 by the Lands Department.
“We are helping to cultivate athletes for the city and to relieve pressure from public facility shortage,” founder and director of the centre Sammy Tung said.
The reason the facility has been ordered to close is that teaching and playing ping-pong does not comply with the definition of industrial use, specified in land lease conditions.
There is a general shortage of public sports grounds in Hong Kong, and in Sha Tin District there are just 10 ping-pong tables and at most 10 ping pong-rooms provided by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department for some 660,000 residents. Tung’s centre has 11 tables.