Tokyo Olympics: Tiffany Chan Tsz-ching reveals she contracted Covid-19 ahead of Games, finishes strong in final round
- The LPGA Tour player ‘hopes to stand on top of the Olympic podium’ one day like Hong Kong’s five medal winners
- Chan finishes the Games at six-over and in a tie for 50th after making adjustments to irons – ‘it was a good lesson to learn’
Hong Kong golfer Tiffany Chan Tsz-ching has an important phone call to make to her parents after completing her Olympic Games campaign on Saturday – to tell them she had Covid-19 earlier in the year.
“I haven’t FaceTimed them yet because there’s a lot going on in the Olympic Village. Actually, my sister already knew I had Covid-19. I hadn’t told my mum and dad because they would be really scared if they found out. I hope to call them and tell them not to worry,” said the 27-year-old Chan after finishing tied for 50th in the women’s individual event at a typhoon-circling Kasumigaseki Country Club.
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It is understood she previously told reporters she likely contracted Covid-19 from her coach, who tested positive earlier in the year.
“My performance improved the last two days because we made some minor adjustments, having discussed with my caddie. We realised there was a problem and addressed it. I’m glad to have shown improvements these last two days, but disappointed that I was not good enough in the first two. I hope to bring this experience into future competitions,” said Chan, who finished 37th as an amateur in the Rio 2016 Games five years ago.
“Although I didn’t get as good a result as last time, golf is like that – it’s unpredictable. It’s tough to say that after five years I would get a medal, but that was my plan. Playing in two Olympics just makes me want to go to the third even more, because I felt so much of the support from Hongkongers watching the athletes. Although our five medallists are not in my sport, I hope to stand on top of the podium just like them.”
Chan insisted she will be more careful with club inspections as she flies to Scotland and around the world for the remainder of the LPGA Tour.
“We have to fly every week, so it’s difficult to determine how our clubs are taken care of. It’s very easy for them to get damaged or changed slightly if they have been thrown around even once. If I was a bit more mature I would have been checking the clubs every one or two weeks because the angles might have been different. I will do that in future,” she said, adding that she would only get an opportunity to return to Hong Kong at the end of the year.
“I’m quite a stubborn person so at the start I thought there wasn’t an issue [with the clubs], but with each stroke I felt there was something a little bit off. I hope I can bring this experience and my hard work to my next competitions.
“Golf is a funny old game. You don’t know what’s going to happen next. I didn’t play well the first two days, and after speaking to everyone I realised the problem might not have necessarily been me – I was showing improvements without changing up my technique. It was a good lesson to learn and I will take it with me to the Tour.”
