Wispy try machine Chong Ka-yan ‘the heartbeat’ of Hong Kong team at National Games rugby 7s
An express winger with an insatiable appetite for scoring tries, Chong will be a vital cog for the city team at Kai Tak Stadium
After Chong Ka-yan had scored one of the most important tries in the history of Hong Kong women’s sevens rugby, she was overcome with emotion.
“I knew it would be a stunning moment to stand on the podium, but it shocked me how beautiful it was, seeing the crowd and hearing them cheering … my dad was also in the stands,” Chong said of the moment she received her Asian Games bronze medal in Hangzhou after Hong Kong’s tense 7-5 third-place victory over Thailand two years ago.
“You remember the work over the years; the hard times and the good times you’ve all shared. [Fellow veteran] Nam Ka-man and I cried quite hard. I couldn’t understand why no one else was crying.”
There was an element of catharsis in Chong’s visceral response. The previous Games, in Jakarta in 2018, was when she experienced her “biggest regret”: a quarter-final defeat by the Thais.
“It was very sad and a big setback for most of us,” Chong said.
The primary reason for her desolation belonged outside the field, and the 31-year-old tried to blink away tears as she relived a “traumatic experience”.
