Hong Kong tennis officials ‘confident’ the sport can retain elite status, but pressure mounts ahead of Hangzhou Asian Games

Tennis officials remain upbeat that their status as an elite sport will remain, after being granted a year extension, but the pressure is on for players to step up at this year’s Asian Games.

Tennis and gymnastics were the two only elite sports to be axed from the Tier A programme on April 1, after failing to meet the basic requirements. At last week’s Sports Commission meeting, the recommendation made by the Elite Sports Committee to extend the review period for one year was approved.

The Commission, headed by the Secretary for Home Affairs, is to advise the government on the provision of funding and resources in support of sports development in Hong Kong.

There will also be adjustments on the funding criteria, with snooker, a non-Asian Games sport since 2014 Incheon Games, facing the axe in the review next year.

Philip Mok, president of the Tennis Association, said they had received a letter from the Hong Kong Sports Institute regarding the extension of the review period and will use the Hangzhou Asian Games in September to fulfil the requirements.

“We will face the same situation next year if we cannot meet the requirements,” Mok said. “But thanks to the recent performance of our players, we are confident of proving ourselves.

“Our women’s doubles pair did well in a tournament in South Africa last week while our men’s singles clinched two junior grand slam doubles titles recently. They will be very competitive at the Asian Games and our hopes.”

Gymnastics and tennis in Hong Kong could still lose elite sports funding

To retain their elite status, any of the 20 tier A programmes at the Sports Institute, including tennis and gymnastics, must meet a 10-point scoring benchmark calculated through international results during the review period. They must also win a medal at either the Asian Games or the World Championships, or qualify for an Olympic Games.

Tennis secured the 10-point benchmark through international results, but did not win any medal at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, no players qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Gymnastics, however, saw Shek Wai-hung win a gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games while also qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But the sport is 0.25 point short of the 10-point scoring table on international results.

The Gymnastics Association blamed the lack of junior competitions for evaluation under the pandemic, but its senior sports executive Albert Ng said they are appealing a result of its junior player, Kaka Wong, in a Asian Cup in Mongolia in 2019 which may revitalise its score.

Women’s doubles pair Eudice Chong and Cody Wong Hong-yi will form part of the eight-member tennis squad for the Hangzhou Games, along with Coleman Wong Chak-lam, who won two junior doubles grand slam titles for Hong Kong in 2021 US Open and the Australian Open early this year.

“Chong and Wong lifted the doubles title at a W60 tournament in Pretoria when they upstaged the number one seeds in the final,” said Mok. “The pair showed some very good form and will continue to sharpen their skills in overseas tournaments to enhance their chances at the Asian Games.

“Coleman has made massive improvement after joining the Rafael Nadal Academy in Spain and will be one of our hopefuls.”

Chong and Wong saved a couple of match points to beat Timea Babos and Valeria Savinykh 7-5, 5-7, 13-11 to claim their maiden W60 title as a pair. Doubles specialist Babos of Hungary won the 2017 WTA Finals doubles title and reached the world No 1 doubles ranking in 2018.