Winter Olympics: Hong Kong flag-bearer Sidney Chu sounds bittersweet note ahead of opening ceremony – ‘I really, really wish it was all of us’

Short-track speed skater is delegation’s only available athlete as skiers King and Yung continue Covid-19 precautions at Beijing 2022

‘It’s a real shame because it’s the first time Hong Kong has had over two people going to the Winter Olympics’, Chu says

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Sidney Chu, of Hong Kong, carries the city’s flag into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Photo: AP/Jae C Hong

Published: 6:15pm, 4 Feb 2022Updated: 11:45pm, 4 Feb 2022

Sidney Chu is “incredibly honoured” to lead Hong Kong’s delegation at the Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Friday, but “heartbroken” his fellow history-making teammates will not be joining him.

Short-track speed skater Chu’s flagbearing duties were confirmed by the Hong Kong Sports Federation and Olympic Committee (SF&OC) earlier in the week after Alpine skier Audrey King tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival last Sunday.

King has since tested negative for two consecutive days and is out of mandatory isolation, while teammate Adrian Yung Hau-tsuen and head coach Marko Rudic – deemed close contacts – are required to undergo relevant testing precautions in the sealed Beijing bubble.

Short-track speed skater Sidney Chu at a press conference ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Photo: Chan Kin-wa

Though permitted to train in a socially distanced setting and granted certain site access, the trio will not be cleared in time for the opening ceremony. Hong Kong boasts three athletes at this Winter Games, its largest delegation in history.

“I think it’s a real shame because it’s the first time Hong Kong has had over two people going to the Winter Olympics,” Chu, who competes in the 500 metres men’s short-track event on February 11, said.

The 22-year-old also shared a message on social media thanking the SF&OC for their “support and trust”, but added “it leaves me heartbroken that I will not be able to walk with the other Hong Kong athletes”.

Hong Kong short-track speed skater Sidney Chu (left) with head coach and two-time Chinese Olympic silver medallist Sun Dandan training before their Beijing Winter Olympics event. Photo: Hong Kong Sports Federation and Olympic Committee

“Most other countries have one woman and one man,” Chu said. “I really, really wish all of us could have come out at the opening ceremony together, and prove to the world that, ‘Hey, this is our biggest delegation ever’. But we’re not really going to be doing that.

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