Tokyo Olympics: time to put Covid-19, delay and hardship behind you and perform, Hong Kong chef de mission says
- Pui Kwan-kay says the Hong Kong athletes have worked extra hard to get where they are now, and he is confident they will do their best
- Rower Winne Hung will be the first Hong Kong athlete in action when she competes in Friday’s women’s single sculls preliminaries
On the eve of the opening ceremony, with rower Winne Hung Wing-yan set to be the first Hong Kong athlete in action on Friday, chef de mission Pui Kwan-kay said now was the time to perform and he was confident they would not let their supporters down.
“Everything is fine in Tokyo,” said Pui, the Hong Kong Football Association chairman. “The Hong Kong athletes have been working hard for many years to be here, overcoming many obstacles because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Now it is time to put all their problems and the difficulties they went through behind them and focus on their performances. The athletes are very motivated to do well for Hong Kong and we have absolute confidence that they will do their best.”
Like the other 11,000 athletes at the Tokyo Games, the 44-strong Hong Kong squad have had to endure a difficult past 16 months since the Olympics were originally postponed for one year because of Covid-19.