Hong Kong basketball players ‘sad but not surprised’ after learning about Games axe
Members men’s and women’s basketball teams react to news city will not be involved in the Asian Games in Japan later this year
Hong Kong’s omission from this year’s Asian Games basketball tournament came as a complete shock, the city’s stunned players said on Tuesday, even though officials knew it might happen.
A day after organisers revealed they were cutting the number of men’s teams to a 24-year low of just 12, while leaving the women’s competition at the same number, players from both squads said while they had been left in the dark they were “sad but not surprised”.
And sources said the sport’s governing body in the city may have known about the decision from organisers in Japan a month ago, even as they continued to call players up from training camps and told them “there should be an Asian Games”.
Hong Kong Eastern, the only professional team in the city’s domestic league, also revealed the governing body sent an email last Saturday summoning players Glen Yang and Ivan Yang Bo-wen for national team training for the Asian Games.
Jerry Chan Chun-fei, the Basketball Association of Hong Kong, China general manager and the son of Norman Chan Shui-tim, who resigned as chairman last month, declined to answer calls from the South China Morning Post.
“The tone was leaning towards wishful thinking rather than an actual plan to prepare for the Games,” one player said.