Tokyo 2020: Top riders Cheung King-lok and Fung Ka-hoo quit Hong Kong cycling team
- The sole Hong Kong spot for the Tokyo Games men’s road race is now wide open with veterans Leung Chun-wing and Ko Siu-wai and some rising youngsters battling for the prize
- Cheung rode for Australia’s world tour team Orica GreenEdge in 2016 after becoming a double Asian champion while Fung achieved a Hong Kong-best 37th at the 2017 Under-23 Worlds
The battle for Hong Kong’s sole Tokyo Olympics spot in the men’s cycling road race was thrown wide open after the sudden withdrawal of top riders Cheung King-lok and Fung Ka-hoo from the team.
Cheung, a 2016 Rio Olympian, and Fung, a fast-improving young rider who represented Hong Kong at the 2018 Asian Games time trial, were considered among the favourites for the single ticket to Tokyo.
Cheung became one of the most decorated Hong Kong riders following the retirement of Wong Kam-po. The 30-year-old was the double Asian champion in the road race and time trial in 2016, the same year he was recruited by Australian world tour team Orica GreenEdge and took part in a number of races in Europe before travelling to Rio for the Olympics.
Fung, 23, finished 37th in the individual time trial at the 2017 Under-23 World Championships in Bergen, Norway – the best ever result by any Hong Kong cyclist.
While Fung said he had differences with coach Shen Jinkang on aspects of training, Cheung said he retired on March 31 without giving any reason. The names of both riders are missing from the latest list of scholarship athletes at the Hong Kong Sports Institute. .
Last week, Hong Kong finished third in the men’s team time trial at the China road race series two in Henan province but Fung and Cheung were not part of the team.
Chairman of the Hong Kong Cycling Association (HKCA) Leung Hung-tak was disappointed to see two top riders quit the team but remained upbeat on identifying the best athlete for the Tokyo Games.
“Fung was once considered the favourite to represent Hong Kong at the forthcoming Olympic Games due to his strong ability in the road race but we can do little if he decides to quit,” said the cycling chief. “He is still young and maybe he will change his mind some time in future but at the moment we have lost one of the most talented road riders.