Asian Games 2023: Hong Kong baseball’s part-timers set to face Korean, Taiwanese pros
- Chance encounter after dim sum opened Alex Chan’s eyes to baseball – now he and Hong Kong teammates want to be ‘best of the rest’ among Games big-hitters
- There are hopes of revolutionising baseball in Hong Kong, with a global short-form tournament coming to the city and aims to identify local talent
The six-year-old Alex Chan Cheuk-hei had just finished dim sum with his grandmother in Ma On Shan when he stepped outside to his first sight of a baseball match, on a school field.
Nearly two decades later, via high school and university in the United States, Chan is a pitcher for a Hong Kong team aiming to be “best of the rest” at the Asian Games.
Dave Ho, chairman of the Baseball Association of Hong Kong, China (BAHKC), hopes it can help familiarise today’s children with the sport, rather than relying on youngsters like Chan stumbling on it by chance.
The Games represent a challenge, too. Hong Kong are in a group with defending champions South Korea, and Chinese Taipei, both boasting professional stars.
“The top countries [also including Japan, China and Philippines] are established,” Ho said. “Our goal in Hangzhou is to finish sixth. We are improving, but so is everybody else.