Tears of joy for Hong Kong track cyclist Leung Bo-yee after ‘miracle’ of qualifying for Tokyo Games madison race
- The Hong Kong men’s and women’s madison teams realise they have qualified after UCI releases adjusted ranking list
- Both teams felt they had not done enough at last week’s Berlin World Championships to make the Olympic grade
Cyclist Leung Bo-yee and partner Pang Yao were already looking ahead to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, with the Hong Kong madison pair thinking their 14th place at the Berlin World Track Cycling Championships was not good enough for Tokyo.
But three days after the event, world governing body UCI released its updated ranking list. And that was when Leung witnessed a “miracle”.
Tears started flowing as Leung realised she would be going to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympic Games after the Hong Kong pair finished above Asian rivals Japan and China.
“We knew before the race that we needed a very good result in Berlin if we wanted to get the ticket to Tokyo,” said Leung, who returned to Hong Kong on Thursday from their training base in Switzerland for a short break. “And so when the race was over, I immediately thought about the 2024 Paris Games. I was relieved and thankful that all these tough qualification days over the past two years were all over.”
“When I checked the list before returning to Hong Kong, I suddenly found we were in 14th position in the final qualification rankings, which means we should be able to qualify. There were tears immediately rolling out from my eyes and I immediately texted the good news to my sister Wing-yee because I will make my Olympic debut this summer,” said 26-year-old Leung, who was the first Asian junior road race champion for Hong Kong when she won the title in Thailand in 2011.
