Financial boost for 10 leading Hong Kong athletes trying to make Rio Olympics
Asian junior championship medallist Eric Wong is one of the group to receive a HK$150,000 grant, and this could help triathlon's case to retain its elite status at the Hong Kong Sports Institute
Teenager Eric Wong Hui-wai may have given his embattled sport - triathlon - a shot in the arm after being picked as one of 10 leading athletes who will receive grants of HK$150,000 each to help them qualify for the Rio Olympics.
[Triathlon's future] is still pending. The committee which looks into this won't meet until later this month so it is unlikely we will hear anything until the end of the month. But we remain positive
"The association is delighted that all the hard work that our athletes and coaches have put in over the last few years has been recognised," said Fenella Ng Gar-loc, president of the Hong Kong Triathlon Association (TriHK).
Triathlon faces the axe from the elite sports academy after failing to win a medal at the Asian Games in Incheon last year.
TriHK officials are trying to convince the Sports Commission that the sport has a bright future and should remain at the HKSI which provides millions of dollars in funding to the sport annually.
But the Olympic committee doesn't have any say in elite sport funding matters.
Wong, who won a silver medal at last year's Asian Under-23 Championships, became a full-time athlete at the HKSI last year. If triathlon is booted out of the HKSI, his future is in doubt.