Tenpin bowling returns to Hong Kong with Asian Championships in January

Former tenpin bowling World Cup champion Wu Siu-hong will make his first appearance in three years with Hong Kong set to play host to 18 overseas teams at next month’s Asian Championships.

A total of 250 bowlers will compete in six events at South China Athletic Association Bowling Centre in So Kon Po over January 8-18, including 38-year-old Wu, who won the prestigious QubicaAMF World Cup in Las Vegas in 2015.

The regional tournament has been made easier to organise, thanks largely to the Hong Kong government’s further relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions for inbound travellers announced this week.

“We were supposed to handle the meal arrangements for all the players in the first four days under previous quarantine rules, but now this is no longer required,” a relieved Tenpin Bowling Association chairwoman Vivien Lau Chiang-chu said.

“They are free to eat upon their arrival in Hong Kong provided they have met the vaccination requirements. But still the players have to wear masks when they are not in competition.

“It’s the same for the officials and they will be required to conduct rapid antigen tests on a daily basis, which they may not like. But this is our first major tournament since the outbreak of the pandemic and we have to take all the precautionary measures.”