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Events in sports such as sailing, basketball, beach volleyball, football and esports could be a good place to start. They would surely attract the support of Hongkongers who tend to be keen on sports and outdoor activities. Home-grown talent would have a platform to excel and compete in tournaments in front of local crowds.
Hong Kong has an enviable landscape and natural beauty, which has been protected by its people and its government through the years. What better way to show this to the world than by hosting a major sailing or beach volleyball event in its coastal areas, complemented by all the amenities, shopping and culinary attractions this iconic harbourfront city has to offer?
Regional basketball, football and esports tournaments hosted in Hong Kong, with teams from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, mainland China, Japan and Malaysia would be a great way to attract regional short-haul tourism. Sports tourism is one of the industry’s fastest-growing sectors, estimated by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation to grow 17.5 per cent annually until 2030. Hong Kong can position itself to seize this opportunity.
With its location, world-class infrastructure, urban and natural landscapes, welcoming and enthusiastic people and the recent success of its Olympians in Paris, Hong Kong should put itself on the world sporting map.
Nuruddin Walyani, Wan Chai
Vision needed to take sports development to next level
Looking at the future of sports in Hong Kong, apart from funding for better venues, having world-class coaches and incentives to attract a new generation of athletes, surely what’s required is long-term forward thinking with a focus on introducing those sports in which our athletes can be competitive.
It’s not about Hong Kong athletes making up the numbers. The question is whether our city has those with the vision and skills needed to take Hong Kong sports to the next level of its evolution?
Hans Ebert, Wan Chai
Ban on Belarus at Olympics doesn’t sit well
At the recently concluded Paris Olympics, two trampoline gymnasts, Ivan Litvinovich and Viyaleta Bardzilouskaya, won gold and silver medals respectively. However, their results did not feature in the official medals table because they competed as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) after their country, Belarus, was banned from taking part in the Olympics because of its support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that allowing Russia to compete at the Olympics would amount to showing that “terror is somehow acceptable”. However, I do not see why Belarus should have been banned from the competition.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has had a huge impact not only on the two countries but also on related nations like Belarus, which was doomed to support Russia during the war because of its close economic and political ties with Moscow. Western countries have imposed various sanctions on Belarus, including in the field of sports.
The two trampoline gymnasts from Belarus have been training their whole lives to win Olympic glory for their country. Unfortunately, because of political events unrelated to sports, they could not compete under their national flag or wear national colours. When Litvinovich won gold, instead of the Belarusian national anthem, a song commissioned by the International Olympic Committee with no lyrics was played and the teal AIN flag was raised.
I feel sorry for these two athletes and do not support the International Olympic Committee’s approach.
Matthew Ngai, Tseung Kwan O
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