Tokyo Olympics: Hong Kong talent ready to shine in table tennis team qualifiers
- Top-seeded Hong Kong women’s team tipped to book Olympic ticket in Portugal qualifying event
- Men’s counterparts face a tough draw with top player Wong Chun-ting still troubled by foot injuries
A women’s Hong Kong team comprising all home-grown talents are favoured to book their ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but their men’s counterparts face a tough battle as the world team qualification kicks off in Gondomar, Portugal on Wednesday.
Former mainland women’s players have always been part of the mix for Hong Kong since the team event was introduced at the 2008 Beijing Games, but now local starlets Doo Hoi-kem, Lee Ho-ching and Minnie So Wai-yam are ready to take on the full responsibility as they lead the team along with Ng Wing-nam and Zhu Chengzhu.
Ranked number one in the 30-team qualifiers following the absence of heavyweights China, Japan and Germany, who have all made it to Tokyo as either continental champions or the hosts, Hong Kong are likely to string of appearance in the Olympics, helped by a relatively weak draw.
As the number one seeds, they only have to beat winners of the previous-round match between Thailand and Belarus in Portugal before securing the all-important ticket, although head coach Chan Kong-wah remained cautious as always.
“We have gone through an intensive training camp in Beijing for the world qualifiers and the players are all ready to go,” he said. “But we still have to prove it on the court and anything can happen as every team wants to pursue the Olympic dream.”