Desperate measures for Hong Kong men’s table tennis as they face missing out on Tokyo Olympics
- Ranked 17th in the world, they face tough draw if they cannot improve before world qualification tournament in January
- Four-man team will compete for the first time in Bulgaria and Czech Republic opens this month to secure ranking points
Hong Kong men’s table tennis team have their hands poised over the panic button as they face losing their slot at the Olympic Games for the first time since the event was introduced more than a decade ago.
There are only two ways for Hong Kong to qualify for the team event for Tokyo 2020 – either as the 2019 Asian champions or by finishing in the top nine in a one-off world qualifying tournament in Portugal in January.
Hong Kong have never lost their slot since team events were introduced at the 2008 Beijing Games. With a current world ranking of 17, head coach Chan Kong-wah has a daunting task to improve their situation.
“The Asian championships will take place in Indonesia next month and I don’t think any team is planning to beat China to take the slot,” said Chan. “The only way we can qualify is through the world qualifying event, which is going to be a tough challenge for any team who wants to appear in Tokyo.”
There will be 16 teams at the Olympic Games featuring six continental champions, nine qualifiers and hosts Japan. So far, only Germany have qualified a team through the 2019 European Games, while heavyweights China should also have little problem at next month’s continental championships.