Heartbreak for Hong Kong’s Christy Leung after injury forces her to pull out of the figure skating World Championships
- The 18-year-old is eyeing a ticket to the 2022 Winter Olympics and become the first Hong Kong figure skater to compete in the Games
- Two years ago, Leung beat top mainlanders to become the China national champion, the same year she finished 14th at the Worlds
Hong Kong figure skater Christy Leung Yi has suffered a heartbreaking injury that forced her to withdraw at the last minute from World Championships in Stockholm, where she was hoping to seal her place in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
A statement from the International Skating Union said Leung “has unfortunately withdrawn from the ladies event at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm on Wednesday before the short programme citing injury sustained during practice”.
The 18-year-old Hong Kong star had targeted the Worlds to become the first figure skater from Hong Kong to qualify for next year’s Beijing Winter Olympics, with 24 tickets to the 2022 Games to be handed out when the competition ends tomorrow.
Leung finished came 14th when the Worlds were last held, in Saitama, Japan in 2019 – the same year she defeated all the top figure skaters from the mainland to be crowned China national champion.
I can match the world’s best in two years, says figure skater Christy Leung
The Hong Kong Skating Union posted a statement on social media, saying: “Bad news: We have just received confirmation that Christy has withdrawn from WC2021 due to injuries sustained during official practice.”
A spokesman from the union said it was unfortunate that Leung was not unable to compete because of injury. “She has the quality to make it to next year’s Winter Olympics as she proved at the last World Championships,” he said.
“We knew she twisted her foot during a practice session after her arrival in Stockholm. Leung still attempted to start the event and was ready even at the last minute but unfortunately she could not overcome the injury and had to withdraw.
“We still have to find out how serious the injury is, hopefully the withdrawal is only a precautionary measure and won’t affect her too much because the next Olympic qualifiers will be coming up soon.”
Leung has another chance to qualify for the Beijing Games, although fewer places will be available. The next qualifier is the Nebelhorn Trophy, which takes place in Oberstdorf, Germany from September 22-25, and will have six Olympic spots for the ladies figure skating competition on offer.
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“Because most of the top figure skaters will qualify through the World Championships, it will give Leung a good chance of making through it in Germany,” said the spokesman. “Leung was supposed to come back to Hong Kong after the World Championships before returning to the United States, which is her training base. We will have to find out if there is any change of plans for her and wish her a speedy recovery.”
Hong Kong has never been represented by a figure skater at the Winter Olympics. Hong Kong made their Games debut in 2002 when two short track speed skaters represented the city. Since then, at least one short track speed skater has taken part in the Winter Games before Arabella Ng took part in the women’s alpine skiing event at the 2018 Olympics.
