Hong Kong rugby sevens star Doherty on regaining his focus, Asian Games gold, and not getting stressed over Olympics bid
- Liam Doherty put in a man-of-the-match performance in Hangzhou after being given a dressing down by coaches
- Hong Kong’s men and women return to action this weekend in Bangkok for the second leg of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series
Hong Kong rugby sevens hero Liam Doherty has admitted he was “in denial” over his loss of focus before a pre-Asian Games dressing down from Jevon Groves.
Doherty delivered a man-of-the-match display in the Hangzhou final, scoring one try and creating another, as Hong Kong downed South Korea for a second successive gold medal.
Head coach Groves, whose team are preparing for this weekend’s second Asia Rugby Sevens Series leg in Bangkok, promptly revealed he had given the forward a “kick up the backside” weeks before the tournament.
Doherty subsequently experienced the “number one moment in my career” when he crossed in the gold-medal match.
“The kick up the bum was much needed,” Doherty said. “I wasn’t training too well for the few weeks leading up to selection, I was struggling to stay focused.
“Jevon brought me in and said, ‘you are lucky to be in the squad’. He told me I was included because I could light it up and do something special, but that I needed to switch on.
“That re-lit a fire in me. It was good to have the belief of the coaches, and that little kick in the right direction brought me back.”
Asked if he had been conscious of a lapse in motivation or concentration before his talking-to, Doherty said: “It was an interesting moment, I had realised [focus was drifting], but the thought was stewing, rather than me looking at it and accepting it. I was living in a bit of denial.
“Being forced to face it in front of the coaches made me appreciate that it was real and I was lucky to be here, which allowed me to turn on the gas.
“You get it, cop it on the chin and move forwards, that is the nature of the business. It was for the best for my development and for the team. It had a positive impact and really helped me.”
Doherty and his teammates are making no attempt to disguise their determination to reach next year’s Paris Olympic Games, when the qualification competition is staged in Japan next month.
Before then, however, Hong Kong will go to Thailand this weekend aiming to atone for a rare stumble. Groves’ team surrendered a 22-game unbeaten run in the series, stretching back to September 2019, when they twice lost to Japan to finish runners-up in August’s first leg.
Hong Kong exacted considerable revenge in the Asian Games, staging a last-gasp recovery to beat Japan in a pulsating semi-final.
“Every player wants to fight for each other and look after each other, we go to the edge in training, and it really showed when we brought it back against Japan,” Doherty said.
“There is a lot of energy and togetherness in the group. Scoring the try in the final felt absolutely electric, it was the number one feeling of my career, so far. And the celebrations in the changing room, with the master speaker turned up and everyone dancing around, will be among my favourite memories.
“Now we want more, but I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. At the Asian Games, I concentrated on enjoying playing and I was happy with how I performed.
“We will focus on Bangkok, then it is the Olympic qualifiers, which are huge. It is so important to not get too stressed, or make a big thing of the Olympics. We have to enjoy the process.”
