How Hong Kong retained its sporting identity after the handover

The city will compete in another edition of the National Games in Shaanxi province 24 years after making its debut at the ‘mini Olympics’

Cycling has won gold in every Games since Wong Kam-po’s victory in Hong Kong’s debut in 1997

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The Hong Kong delegation marches in at the 1997 China National Games opening ceremony, the first time the Special Administrative Region sent its team to the Games. Photo: SCMP

Published: 8:00am, 29 Aug 2021Updated: 9:32am, 29 Aug 2021

The State Council announced this week that Hong Kong will be co-hosting the 2025 National Games of China with Guangdong and Macau – a privilege that not many cities in China have enjoyed.

In fact, it has been only 24 years since Hong Kong first took part in the National Games under the auspices of the People’s Republic of China.

Just three months after the reunification with China on July 1, 1997, Hong Kong sent a squad of 250 plus athletes to Shanghai for the eighth running of the National Games, competing against 44 teams from other provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, the army and various enterprise sports associations.

Shanghai was staging the National Games for the second time after hosting the fifth Games in 1983. The first four editions of the Games, which is also known as the “mini Olympics”, were all held in Beijing. Guangzhou, the biggest city in Southern China, was the host city for the sixth edition in 1987. The next Games did not take place until six years later with the Chinese capital the host again.

Kai Tak Sports Park, to be completed in two years, will become a major venue when Hong Kong co-hosts the 2025 National Games. Photo: Martin Chan

Before the handover, Hong Kong took part in the Commonwealth Games being a British colony, making its last appearance at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia in Canada where the city won four bronze medals.