Tokyo 2020: Hong Kong’s Kenneth Cheng back in Olympic equestrian fray after FEI revises qualifying results

Showjumping specialist Kenneth Cheng’s Olympic ambitions are back on track, five weeks after a heartbreaking setback that appeared to shatter the Hong Kong rider’s Tokyo 2020 dreams.

The 31-year-old Beijing Games Olympian benefits from a major revision by world governing body FEI, which has invalidated some results from January’s Villeneuve-Loubet qualifiers in France – allowing Cheng to rise to second in the points ranking and earn Hong Kong a place in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

However, while Cheng’s Olympics hopes are revived, he must still fight it out with teammates Raena Leung, Patrick Lam, Jacqueline Lai and Clarissa Lyra for the one Hong Kong spot in the Tokyo showjumping competition.

“It is great news that we have qualified two athletes for the Olympic Games, along with two also for the Paralympic Games,” said Amanda Bond, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s equestrian affairs executive manager.

“Kenneth has earned the slot [for Hong Kong], but still requires the certificate of capability, which needs to be gained by achieving results in certain international events before the deadline of June 1.

“A number of Hong Kong athletes are likely to attempt to achieve this, and if successful, then a selection process will decide which of them will go to Tokyo.”

Hong Kong have not had a rider in Olympic show jumping since Cheng flew the local flag at the 2008 Beijing Games when the competition was held in the city.

And it appeared for several weeks that Hong Kong’s wait would be prolonged after Sri Lanka’s Mathilda Karlsson took second place in the rankings away from Cheng with her performances at the Villeneuve-Loubet meeting, joining Taiwan’s Jasmine Chen as qualifiers from the Southeast Asia, Oceania region.

However, the FEI on Monday announced that two events with Olympic and ranking points had been added to the Villeneuve-Loubet competition after the entries deadline and were mistakenly approved by the governing body.

As a result, points from those two events have been removed from the Olympic qualifying process, with Karlsson losing heavily and dropping down the rankings and giving second place back to Cheng.

In December, Thomas Heffernan Ho qualified for the Olympics in the individual eventing competition, while Hong Kong also has two slots in the Paralympic Games with Natasha Tse, Timothy Tsang and Fleur Schrader competing for places.

“It is thrilling that Hong Kong has qualified four athletes for Tokyo 2020,” Bond said. “This is a historic moment to have three separate disciplines represented at the Games.

“Since Beijing 2008, where Hong Kong had the host nation slot, this is the first time in history to have athletes qualified for the Olympics. It is a wonderful achievement and a testament to the athlete and support team’s hard work and dedication. We are all over the moon.”

Cheng was part of the first Hong Kong equestrian team to win a medal at the Asian Games when he and teammates Jacqueline Lai, Patrick Lam and Samantha Lam claimed bronze in Guangzhou in 2010.

He was also the youngest equestrian athlete at the Beijing Games in 2008, at 19.