Asian Games: Hong Kong’s wushu athletes face virtual competition for squad places after Sports Institute goes into Covid-19 lockdown

Hong Kong’s wushu athletes will battle it out for a place in the Asian Games squad in a virtual selection competition next Sunday, after the city’s Sports Institute went into a coronavirus lockdown leaving referees unable to attend.

The institute in Fo Tan has been closed three times for a total of 174 days over the past two years because of the three waves of the pandemic that have hit the city.

In response to the latest outbreak of the Omicron variant, the institute tightened its prevention measures, with only full-time elite athletes, coaches and relevant staff allowed on the premises.

Juanita Mok Uen-ying, who won a silver medal in the Taijiquan and Taijijian all-round at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, returned to the Fo Tan complex on Thursday afternoon to prepare for the selection competition to become a member of the squad sent to September’s event in Hangzhou.

“I am looking forward to the Asian Games internal selection this month. We have already got used to Zoom competitions, so I’m not worried about it,” said the 26-year-old, who spent nearly two months locked down in the complex last year.

Mok said some local and international competitions had already taken place online in the past two years, including the 2021 Hong Kong Wushu Virtual Competition, and the 2021 Asian Traditional Wushu Competition.

Next Sunday, all of Hong Kong’s elite wushu athletes will gather at the Sports Institute’s Wushu Hall, with referees joining remotely from outside the complex.

“The worst part in virtual competitions is that I may easily overlook the slightest movement of the opponents through the monitor,” Mok said.

Mok, who is among those expected to challenge for a medal in September, has prepared a routine with newly composed background music for the Games.

While the Hong Kong government’s strict social-distancing rules brought an end to sport in the city in January, the Sports Institute did not lock down until February 24, with a review taking place every 14 days.

Previously, it first locked down on March 25 two years ago, a week after three karate exponents were confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus after returning to the institute from a training camp in France.

On that occasion, the complex was closed for a total of 44 days, with a second lockdown starting on July 29 and running until September 17, as the city battled a second wave of Covid-19 infections.

The most challenging closure came soon after during a fourth wave, with a third lockdown lasting for 79 days from December 1 until February 17.