Hong Kong’s men’s and women’s sevens squads will get the chance of a lifetime in November. Both squads have booked spots for their respective Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifying tournaments. The women’s games will be on November 9 and 10 in Guangzhou, and the men’s matches will take place on November 23 and 24 in Incheon, South Korea. What is at stake is monumental: one Asia spot for the following summer as rugby sevens makes its second appearance at the Summer Olympics. The fan-friendly version of the sport was a huge hit in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. Hong Kong’s men finished off their three-part Asia Rugby Sevens Series with a 17-12 loss to Japan in the final in Sri Lanka on Sunday, conceding 17 points without reply in the first half before trying to mount a second-half comeback. They ended up losing the overall series on a tiebreaker to Japan. Head coach Paul John said he was pleased his squad were moving forward and setting their sights on Tokyo. “We made changes for every tournament and have really grown the depth in the squad,” said John. “In the past, I am not sure we could have stuck with a game like that final, producing a second half like we did, but now the bench is making a massive impact.” John ended up using 19 different players across the three tournaments, which also featured contests in South Korea and China. The men have also made it safely through to the two-leg, 16-team qualification series for the World Rugby Sevens Series 2020-21 next year in South America, a winnowing competition that will come down to eight teams here for the Hong Kong Sevens in April. The men’s squad will be the top seeds in Incheon in a tournament that will not include Japan (they automatically get a spot as hosts), and John said his team were building resolve through multiple comeback wins and late rallies. “We are difficult to play now,” he said. “Japan and China scored against us, but no one else did. The way we came back in the final 90 seconds against China, and the second half against Japan, showed how strong our bench depth is and that the boys come on with real grit. We have got to learn from this experience now, there were positives but we have to learn form these moments, because there are bigger stages yet to come.” The women beat Singapore 22-5 in the Plate final in Sri Lanka to take fifth place, and now set their sights on a crucial November tournament as well. Stephanie Chan Chor-ki led the way during the tournament with three tries. The team put in a gutsy effort, given star Natasha Olson-Thorne did not play, and captain Melody Li and Nam Ka-man were injured early in the tournament.