Hong Kong long jumper Chan Ming-tai wins at 2021 Athletics Series opener but rues being given just four attempts
- Hong Kong record holder limited to four attempts rather than usual six after organisers changed the rules
- Rio 2016 Olympian is targeting a second Games appearance in Tokyo this summer
Long jumper Chan Ming-tai won his event at the 2021 Athletics Series opening track and field meeting at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground on Saturday but said he could have done better if he had been given six official jumps instead of four.
The Hong Kong record holder jumped 7.44 metres to win the event despite committing two fouls in the second straight local meeting held after an ease of the pandemic situation in the city.
Chan made only four attempts in the long jump and not the normal three jumps in the heat and three jumps in the final after organisers decided to limit the number of jumps as a precautionary health measure.
Track events, however, were allowed to start under normal practice apart from the 100 metres sprint, which saw a maximum of seven runners. At the preseason trial last week, only four runners were able to start in the race.
Chan said he was let down by the competition arrangements and could have jumped better had he been allowed more attempts.
“If we had six jumps, I could have had more opportunities [to improve my jump] for a better result,” said Chan, whose Hong Kong record stands at 8.12 metres.
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“I was surprised by the competition rules when it was announced. There were four jumps last week but that was a preseason time trial. We understand if the association wanted to change the format from last week, they would have to sort it out with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department which could be difficult as they will have to make many last-minute changes.”
Dennis Ng Yu-ho, the association’s executive director, said they were only informed by the ground management on Wednesday that track events could resume as normal while no new arrangements had been made for the field competitions.
They plan to resume normal competition when the annual Hong Kong Championships take place in May.
The long jumper, however, is targeting a second consecutive Olympic appearance in Tokyo this summer. If no Hong Kong men’s athlete can meet the qualification requirements, one wild card will be given to the best athlete through a scoring system across different disciplines.
“I stayed at the Sports Institute even during the lockdown period so that I can focus on training with the Tokyo Games my prime target,” said Chan.
“I can feel my speed is back after these two competitions, but I just lack consistency in my take off. If I can return to good form and jump over eight metres, there is still hope.”
Also competing for a men’s Olympic wild card is men’s sprinter Ng Ka-fung, who won the 100 metres in 10.5 seconds.
“The training intensity is still not up to the required level as I only returned to the Sports Institute for training last month after knowing competitions would return soon,” said Ng, whose personal best stands at 10.31 seconds set in 2017. “I’m also targeting for Tokyo this summer but would have to run under 10.3 seconds to stay competitive.
“With more training and competitions in the coming months, I hope to achieve my target.”
In the women’s 100 metres, Leung Kwan-yi set a seasonal best time of 12.16 seconds in the absence of Hong Kong record holder Lam On-ki.
“I’ve changed to a new coach recently and I’ve made some progress,” said the Polytechnic University student.
“Also there was no headwind in the 100 metre race today which was very rare at the Tseung Kwan O venue. It helped.”
