Opinion | A battle is won, but a war is lost
HK Olympic officials deserve credit for gaining Asian Games eligibility for 14 athletes, but the outcome still rankles
Few things are more satisfying than watching an athlete or team win a medal at a multi-sports event like the Olympics, or more realistically in Hong Kong's case, the Asian Games. Perhaps a close second is when an athlete hears he or she has qualified to compete at the event, heralding a realisation of dreams.
That was the case this week when 14 Hong Kong athletes discovered they would be going to Incheon, South Korea, in September for the 17th edition of the Asian Games, which, in terms of numbers of athletes, is second only to the Olympic Games.
Jamie Atkinson, captain of the Hong Kong cricket team, echoed widespread delight when saying it was a great relief to find out he had been given special dispensation by the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to compete, despite not carrying a Hong Kong SAR passport. The OCA had initially insisted all athletes had to hold a passport for the country they wished to represent, in line with International Olympic Committee rules.
This is a huge boost, especially for the two team sports, whose strength would have been devastated if these players hadn't received the greenlight
"It would have been a real shame to miss out, particularly after having had a good experience at the last one in 2010 [Guangzhou]. Being able to stay in the athletes' village surrounded by athletes from all over Asia is an opportunity you don't get very often," says Atkinson, who, although born in Hong Kong, holds a British passport.
The Hong Kong Olympic Committee successfully argued that if an athlete had taken part in a previous Asian Games, they should be allowed to go to Incheon, even though the eligibility goal posts had been moved.
Kudos to our Olympic committee for carrying the case of cricket (Atkinson, Waqas Barkat, Aizaz Khan, Roy Lamsam, and women cricketers Mariko Aota Hill and Ishitaa Gidwani), rugby sevens (Anthony Haynes, Jamie Hood, Keith Robertson and Lindsay Varty from the women's team), cycling (Meng Zhaojuan and Diao Xiaojuan), equestrianism (Aram Gregory), and soccer (Xu Deshuai).
This is a huge boost, especially for the two team sports, whose strength would have been devastated if these players hadn't received the greenlight.
