National Games 2025: discussions reveal which sports may be staged in Hong Kong
- Cycling, fencing, golf, rugby, football, sailing, beach volleyball and handball emerge as likely to be held locally
- The new Kai Tak Sports Park will be the ideal venue for several, while the velodrome in Tseung Kwan O is already tried and tested
About a quarter of the sports events at the next National Games in 2025 are expected to take place in Hong Kong, as the city – jointly with Guangdong and Macau – prepares to co-host the multisport event for the first time.
The Hong Kong government has been working with the mainland and Macau authorities on allocating event locations, and it was not until last week that the Leisure and Cultural Services Department met a number of the city’s national sports associations regarding the possibility of hosting their events locally.
Eight sports were represented at that meeting: cycling, fencing, golf, rugby, football, sailing (incorporating windsurfing), beach volleyball and handball.
“The government has not promised anything yet, but we believe those at the meeting are all being seriously considered, or we wouldn’t be invited,” said an official from one of the associations.
“It is good news for our sport that we can hope to play in front of our fans in the National Games. Our medal hopes may also increase with home advantage.”
There were 34 sports at the last National Games in Shaanxi, in 2021, when Hong Kong clinched two gold and five bronze medals, with both golds coming from cycling – Sarah Lee Wai-sze’s sprint on the track and Ceci Lee Sze-wing’s individual road race.