Asian Games 2023: Hong Kong women’s rugby sevens stars target Olympic qualifiers after hitting ‘next level’ with bronze
- Co-captain Natasha Olson-Thorne and try hero Chong Ka-yan insist medal can provide confidence to improve further in time for Olympic bid
- After disappointing rout by China in semi-finals, Hong Kong came back to beat nemeses Thailand with courageous display
Co-captain Natasha Olson-Thorne said Hong Kong’s women’s rugby sevens team reached “the next level” in their Asian Games bronze medal-winning campaign – but had areas to “fix” before November’s Olympic qualifiers.
Hong Kong suffered a one-sided semi-final defeat by hosts China at the Games, with Olson-Thorne admitting her team fell beneath their own expectations in that encounter.
But the scope for improvement, married to a performance of character and aggression to beat recent nemeses Thailand to bronze, were sources of optimism for Olson-Thorne. Her shuddering try-saving tackle as Hong Kong resisted waves of Thai pressure provided one of the images of the tournament.
Hong Kong go to Bangkok for an Asia Rugby Sevens Series (ARSS) event this month, with the qualifying competition in Japan for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games accelerating into view.
“We enjoyed the moment but very quickly had to get back on it for the [ARSS] and the Olympic qualifiers,” Olson-Thorne said.