Paris Olympics: why women’s rugby sevens gold-medal match could have a Hong Kong presence
- Craig Chan, chosen on 11-official panel for women’s event, will be the third Hongkonger to referee rugby sevens at the Olympics
- The 31-year-old combines refereeing with selling insurance and coaching rugby, but nearly quit after an unhappy first experience
Referee Craig Chan Chung-ho is aiming to represent Hong Kong in a major Olympic final, eight years after threatening to strangle his career at its inception.
Chan was among 11 officials chosen to oversee the women’s sevens tournament in Paris this summer. He hoped his appointment tells fellow Hongkongers that “rugby is not just a sport for foreigners – we can do it, too”.
Having refereed on the women’s world series circuit since 2022, Chan will officiate in the forthcoming Madrid grand finals, and June’s Olympic repechage in Monaco.
But the French capital assignment is beyond anything Chan, 31, imagined possible when he reluctantly first picked up a whistle in 2016.
“I am really pumped, and really thankful,” Chan said. “I knew the Olympic pathway existed when I started reffing, but I never imagined I could do it. The Hong Kong Sevens was my only ambition.
“But everybody in the world knows about the Olympics, it is another level.”