Tokyo 2020: Olympics loom large for Hong Kong rugby sevens teams after Japan given free pass
- Hong Kong’s men and women will face easier path in Asian regional qualifiers after Japanese given automatic berths
Tokyo appears much closer on the horizon for Hong Kong’s rugby players after World Rugby delivered the good news about the 2020 Olympic Games qualification process.
Japan, as hosts, were always going to benefit from automatic qualification for the Summer Games rugby sevens event from July 27 to August 1 at the Tokyo Stadium – which would ease the path for their biggest rivals in Asia, Hong Kong, to earn their place in the Olympics.
And all it needed was official confirmation, which came on Monday night when World Rugby also announced venues for the continental qualifying tournaments.
“Even if Japan were in the mix, after the Asian Games gold medal, we would still feel we were in with a shout,” McRobbie told the South China Morning Post. “Now, with Japan having automatic qualification, it certainly opens things up for both the men and the women.”