Paris Olympics: home failure not fatal to Hong Kong judoka Wong’s hopes of making Games this summer
- Wong Ka-lee loses in first bout of the day at Asian Judo Championships to Kurbanay Kurbanova in women’s under-48kgs category
- If Wong does qualify for Summer Games, it will be first time city has sent a judo athlete since London 2012
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Hong Kong’s Olympic hopeful Wong Ka-lee burst into tears after bowing out in the early stages of the Asian Judo Championships in front of family and friends on Saturday.
But the result at the Kowloon Bay International Trade & Exhibition Centre is not likely to ruin her dreams of competing at the Paris Games this summer, with 25-year-old still expected to be in a position to qualify when rankings close on June 23.
If the 25-year-old does make it to France, it will be first time Hong Kong has sent a judoka to the Olympics since Cheung Chi-yip, competing in the men’s under-73 kilograms, lost to Nicholas Delpopolo of the United States at the London Games in 2012.
“I am so sorry to let my family and friends down,” Wong said, after losing to Kurbanay Kurbanova in the first bout of the day. “I’ve disappointed you all, but I’ll do better the next time.”
Competing in the women’s under-48kgs category, Wong, on paper at least, appeared to have the upper hand, having previously recorded back-to-back wins last year over her opponents at the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam and Kuwait City Asian Open.
But it was not to be in their third meeting, with the local fan favourite unable to find a way past her Turkmenistan opponent in the only round of 32 bout of her weight class.
“I am not satisfied with my performance as it was below my standard for sure,” said Wong, who lost in the quarter-finals at the Asian Games. “I had defeated her a few times before so I was confident I could extend the streak.
“I need more practice and perhaps enhance my strength and stamina going forward. There’s some pressure with my [winning] record over her, and the fact that I am playing at home didn’t help.”
Currently holding onto the last of three continental spots, behind China’s Guo Zongying and Taiwan’s Lin Chen-hao, Wong said her next target was to “win a match or two” at next month’s World Championships in Abu Dhabi.
Separately, veteran gymnast Stone Shek Wai-hung remained on course to reach his third Olympics, despite failing to make the final at the last qualification event in Qatar.
The Hongkonger ranked second before this week’s Doha leg and a podium finish would have guarantee his place in Paris. However, the 32-year-old scored only 13.849 points on Thursday to rank 10th in qualification and missed out on the final.
But, with leader Mahdi Olfati of Iran coming last in qualification, and four other gymnasts who finished ahead of Shek already qualified, the Hongkonger still picked up 14 more ranking points, moving him ahead of Olfati.
