Coronavirus ‘bombshell’ at HKSI proves greatest challenge for player-turned-administrator Tony Choi
- From positive tests to locking down the HKSI, deputy chief executive Tony Choi faces biggest challenge in more than three decades in sport
- Former squash player Choi in charge of more than 450 staff members at the Institute and 1,300 athletes, from part-time to full-time
From Hong Kong’s first scholarship athlete at the Sports Institute to its deputy chief executive, Tony Choi Yuk-kwan faces the biggest battle of his career as Covid-19 turns the sports world upside down.
Ever since the outbreak hit Hong Kong in January, the Fo Tan training centre has been operating mostly as a closed camp, with only designated athletes allowed to train and stay there. This has never happened since the centre opened in 1982.
“I only needed to focus on my results when I was a scholarship athlete some 30 years ago, just as simple as that,” said 52-year-old Choi, who has worked his way up the ladder after retiring from squash, from coach to coaching director, from head coach to deputy chief executive in 2016.
“Of course as an athlete, I also had to train hard, to keep my form and avoid injuries so that I was able to achieve the results.
“But now I have to take care of the interests of over 450 staff members at the Institute where we cater for 1,300 athletes from part-time to full-time, from potential to elite rank such as Sarah Lee and Angus Ng, helping them to excel at the highest levels with various kinds of support. The scope is far much bigger,” he said.