‘Mr Sports’: the man who put Hong Kong athletes on world stage
- Without the dedication of Arnaldo de Oliveira Sales, who believed sport could create a happier society, the city would have been much the poorer
Hong Kong’s representation at international sporting events as an entity separate from China is taken for granted, the athletes competing under the city’s flag and winning medals and honours in its name.
This has been the case since British colonial days and it is largely due to the efforts of a single person, Arnaldo de Oliveira Sales, who died last Friday aged 100. His tireless efforts to promote sports locally and then ensure that the best participants could compete regionally and internationally literally put Hong Kong on the sporting map.
His role at the top echelons of major bodies and links to prominent officials ensured a global profile.
Sales, affectionately known as “Sonny”, was prominent in public life in Hong Kong for more than half a century until the early 2000s.
He co-founded the Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Committee in 1950 and was its president from 1967 to 1998. During his tenure, local athletes gained recognition in sports at top multi-nation competitions, including the Olympic, Commonwealth and Asian games.
He furthered the city’s profile and standing by serving as president of the Commonwealth Games Federation from 1994 to 1998, being a member of the Olympic Council of Asia and having a close personal relationship with the late former International Olympic Committee president, Juan Antonio Samaranch.
He believed that sport could create a happier society, innovative thinking in Hong Kong during the tough years after World War II. His advocacy for sports and later as chairman of the Urban Council from 1973 to 1981 ensured the provision of major sporting facilities.
Such was his dedication that he even put his life at risk at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972; he personally negotiated with armed terrorists to allow Hong Kong athletes to leave a compound they shared with Israeli counterparts, 11 of whom were killed.
Sales was a stickler for rules and that sometimes put him at odds with athletes and other officials. His beliefs could be at odds with trends, such as a contention that the Olympics and other events should remain the domain of amateur athletes. But of his dedication there can be no dispute and Hong Kong owes its sporting prowess and vitality to him.