Hong Kong sends only two men to cycling World Cup in Manchester
Only two male riders will take part in the Manchester event that forms the squad's preparations for next year's Asian Games
Hong Kong was only able to send two men's riders to Friday's Track World Cup in Manchester, with a number of athletes considering quitting the team.
Cheung King-lok and Leung Chun-wing will join their three female counterparts - Sarah Lee Wai-sze, Diao Xiaojuan and Wong Wan-yiu, to kick off the track season as they start their preparations for the 2014 Asian Games.
The England event is the opening round of the 2013-14 World Cup Series with the hosts sending the same squad of riders, who recently competed at the European Championships in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, where they won eight medals and set a new world record in the women's team pursuit.
Kwok Ho-ting and Choi Ki-ho, the two other key members of the men's squad, are still pondering their future, while another member Cheung King-wai must compete in the road race in the Tour of Taihu Lake in China, which starts at the same time. Sprinter Siu Ka-ming, who also used to be Lee's training partner, has ceased full-time riding.
"We can't even form a men's pursuit team of four members because there are not enough numbers," said Hong Kong Cycling Association chairman Leung Hung-tak. "We won a silver medal in the event at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, but we're not too sure if we can repeat the same success at the Incheon Games next year."
The scholarship system at the Sports Institute, according to Leung, has made life difficult for the riders as they will have to suffer a big funding cut if they can't maintain the same level of success in a two-year cycle.