The upcoming visit of a delegation of Chinese mainland Olympians to Hong Kong has aroused great enthusiasm within the city, as many people believe such an exchange will boost the city’s sports development.
A 29-strong delegation of Tokyo Olympic medalists from the mainland will visit Hong Kong from Friday to Sunday. The delegation members include sprinter Su Bingtian, who set an Asian record of 9.83 seconds in the men’s 100m semifinal at the Tokyo Olympics, and Ma Long, the world’s first table tennis player to claim men’s singles titles at two consecutive Olympic Games.
The delegation will give two sports demonstrations on Saturday morning and attend a variety show in the evening. About 5,300 tickets for the three events went on sale at 10 am on Nov 26. Ninety percent of the tickets were sold within the first hour and the rest were gone by 6 pm that day.
Ronnie Wong Man-chiu, honorary secretary-general of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, said the public enthusiasm for sports is at a high, especially after the Hong Kong delegation’s historic performance of winning one gold, two silver and three bronze medals at the Tokyo Olympics.
Wong, who is a former Olympic swimmer, believes the delegation’s visit will further arouse people’s interest in sports, which will help the industry receive more social support and develop better.
Wong said he is looking forward to personally meeting the Olympic champions during the three-day event to exchange views on Hong Kong’s further development of its sports industry. He expects the delegation to give practical advice on athlete training and future cooperation with the mainland.
Wong added that the delegation’s visit has shown the central government’s support for the city’s sports development. He also expressed his confidence about closer cooperation developing between the mainland and Hong Kong in the future.
Trisha Leahy, chief executive of the Hong Kong Sports Institute, said the visit is meaningful, as Hong Kong and mainland athletes will have the chance to communicate with each other and exchange experiences.
She said that the mainland delegation has performed well in every Olympics.
At the Tokyo Olympics, the mainland delegation ranked second on the medal list with 38 gold, 32 silver and 18 bronze medals.
Noting that the elite athletes are role models for Hong Kong youths, Leahy said she hopes the athletes’ perseverance and hardworking spirit will inspire the young to make their own contributions to the nation.
She said that Hong Kong has close contact with the mainland for various sports arrangements, such as sending Hong Kong athletes there for training. She hopes the visit will be a good opportunity to deepen such ties, adding that the Hong Kong Sports Institute will also hold a series of activities to strengthen exchanges with delegation members.
