Opinion | Hong Kong must cherish Marco Fu while we still have him – if this is the end he will be sorely missed

You only need to take a quick glance around the half-empty venues at most sports events in this city outside of the Hong Kong Sevens to see that, sadly, there isn’t a great sporting culture here.

Time and again, Hong Kong shoots itself in the foot when it comes to sports events – take the high ticket prices for grandstand seats at the Hong Kong E-Prix last December, or the lack of floodlights at the government-owned Mission Road cricket ground, which limited attendance for last week’s Hong Kong T20 Blitz.

It is hardly an environment conducive to creating bonafide sports stars. That is all the more reason Hong Kong should be crossing its fingers and hoping Marco Fu doesn’t have to retire after his recent laser eye operation.

The snooker superstar admitted he fears for his future in the sport after having surgery to fix the vision in his left eye, and said even his doctor doesn’t know how long his recovery will take.

He may be 40 years old, but a healthy Fu surely still has plenty to give, having reached his highest ranking of fifth in the world only last July.