Rowing coach Chris Perry said he hoped Hong Kong’s top women’s rower Winne Hung Wing-yan has learned her lesson after she was disqualified from this weekend’s Olympic trials because she failed to make the weight. The 21-year-old rising star, a gold medallist at the 2019 World Rowing Coastal Championships in Hong Kong, must wait for about two months for her next and final chance to impress selectors and Perry is confident she will bounce back strongly. “She didn’t start her weight loss process early enough,” said Perry. “Maybe she thought she could do it at the last minute but it didn’t work. But she’s a young athlete and she’s talented and I think it is important for her to learn. “I could have said ‘you can race anyway’, but I think she has to understand that that is the job of a lightweight. It is to get the weight right.” A women’s lightweight rower must be 59 kilograms or under to compete in a singles race. For a crew, the average weight must be 57kg, so each athlete has a part to play in ensuring the team fulfil requirements. This weekend’s trial for men and women will be a factor in which athletes will be selected for the Olympic qualifiers in Tokyo in early May. Hong Kong are focusing on men’s and women’s lightweight doubles crews for the Tokyo Games. Hung has emerged as Hong Kong’s top women’s lightweight sculler since Lee Ka-man retired last year because of injury but will be watching from the boathouse this weekend. Perry said he hoped it was a wake-up call for Hung and other rowers, who have little excuse given the support available at the Hong Kong Sports Institute. The final trials are to be held in about two months and Perry is confident Hung will be able to make the weight. “I think she understands what she needs to do. Nobody wants to not make the weight. I hope it’s a wake-up call for her to think about what she needs to do and to get it right,” said Perry. “We will make sure she has all the right support. It’s not just a question of a coach shouting at her, we are not asking someone to do anything medically unsafe and that’s why I wouldn’t ask an athlete to force the weight down. “We have a nutritionist, we have a psychologist, we have everyone, but in the end it’s the athlete who has to do it. “For lightweight, it’s better to learn it now, in a trial situation than to learn it on race day. We’ve seen around the world athletes who turn up at a big regatta and [get disqualified] and that’s absolutely disastrous for you and your partner.” On the men’s side, Chiu Hin-chun has proven to be the leading rower on the water, while Chan Chi-fung, who holds two world records in indoor rowing, is in a battle with Lam San-tung and Wong Wai-chun for a potential Olympic place. Perry said the depth of talent in the men’s ranks meant he had yet to identify which rowers are more likely to represent Hong Kong, with all four in the hunt. “This weekend’s trials will certainly be a factor and will guide us on what combinations we want to focus on in the coming few weeks,” said Perry “They may also eliminate some weaker performers. But it is not the final decision yet. “Chiu is certainly up there at the moment but there is no guaranteed seat for the men just yet.” The Asian and Oceania Continental Regatta is expected to take place from May 5-7 on the same Tokyo venue being used for the Olympics.