Hong Kong’s table tennis Olympic bronze medallists to skip China National Games
- Coach Chan Kong-wah says it will be difficult for his players to regain their fitness if they are required to spend 21 days in quarantine for National Games
- Hong Kong will instead take part in the WTT contender series and Asian Championships in Doha in September
Hong Kong’s Olympic bronze medal women’s table tennis team have opted to skip the China National Games amid a 21-day quarantine requirement and the city’s heroes will take part in two major international events in Doha instead in September.
Hong Kong athletes taking part in the National Games – sometimes referred as the “mini Olympics” on the mainland, will be required a lengthy isolation before kicking off the campaign, which starts mainly in Shaanxi province from September 15 to 27.
“It will be very difficult for the players to get back into form after such a long period of quarantine [isolation] time,” said table tennis head coach Chan Kong-wah. “And we all know China is the biggest power in the sport and they feature many quality players from the country.
“Even if we send a team with the best possible preparation, it will still be tough for our players and there is no way they can compete against the strong mainland counterparts after resting for so long.”
It was reported China’s Tokyo Olympic gold medallists will all feature in the Shaanxi Games, headed by men’s and women’s singles champions Ma Long and Chen Meng, while other members of the team Olympic gold winners that includes Xu Xin and Fan Zhendong in the men’s and Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu in the women’s will also represent their own provinces.