Hong Kong to host regional windsurfing championships next month, will use races to decide Asian Games squad
- Some 80 athletes from across the region will compete in waters off main beach in Stanley between December 6 and 10
- Organisers were only given 4 months notice that city would host event after it was switched from mainland China
Five world champion windsurfers will lead Hong Kong’s challenge at the IQFOIL Asian Championships in Stanley next month, which will also serve as the Asian Games selection race for the city’s squad.
A total of 80 windsurfers will compete between December 6 and 10, with around 30 competing for Asian titles and the remainder competing for Hong Kong Open Championships titles, to commemorate the city’s hosting of the Asian Championships since 2013.
Windsurfing chief Yu Wing-ho said they submitted a bid to the organisers for the 2023 regional championships months ago, but after the original host China backed out, Hong Kong was asked to step in with just four months’ notice.
“We’re glad the organisers do not mind that we still have ‘0+3’ medical surveillance, so we can go ahead with it,” Yu, executive director of the Windsurfing Association of Hong Kong, said. “We’re also grateful that the countries taking part do not mind coming earlier with their own money, some will arrive this week, and we’ll remind them to follow all our Covid-19 restrictions.”
With the exception of China, Asian powers such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Taiwan have confirmed their participation, with South Korea led by veteran Lee Tae-hoon, the 2018 Asian Games bronze medallist in the RS:X class.
Hong Kong will enter all their top athletes who competed in the IQFOIL World Championships in France last month, including Cheng Ching-yin, Au Ling-yeung and Rafeek Kikabhoy in the men’s fleet, and Ma Kwan-ching and Ngai Wai-yan in the women’s fleet, to compete for titles and Asian Games slots.