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Paul McNamara

Veteran baseball head coach Sean Au Hok-leung has said Hong Kong’s players showed they could eventually snap at the heels of the traditional Asian powerhouses during a promising National Games campaign.
On their way to an eighth-place finish in Zhongshan, the city team beat Sichuan for a first-ever Games victory and lost by only one run to Fujian and Shandong.
Au’s squad was largely staffed by emerging talent, with only eight over-23s permitted and just five of those allowed on the field in each match.
“We had prepared for several years, and I told the players to show their talent to the whole of China, and that Hong Kong can have a good baseball team,” said Au, whose collection of part-timers were battling with professionals on the mainland.
“We were very happy with the young players … in three to five years, we have the potential to be doing well on the international stage.”
Au said it would be impossible in that time frame to attain the levels of world No 1 side Japan, Chinese Taipei (2), South Korea (4) and China (17), but he aimed to “be the top team in Asia outside those four”.
Hong Kong are world ranked No 29, five spots beneath the Philippines.

“I’m optimistic we can do that in one to two years,” said Au, who has set his side a fifth-place goal for next year’s Asian Games. They finished sixth in 2023.
The city’s elite training group this year, spanning the men’s and women’s teams, U18s, U15s and U12s, had more than 200 players.
While hugely encouraged by the increasing depth of talent and players for local tournaments doubling over the past decade, the coach said Hong Kong were hamstrung by a paucity of facilities.
“One good field [Sai Tso Wan Recreation Ground in Lam Tin] is not enough for such a big group,” Au said. “We also have no indoor facilities, which is a problem in the summer heat and when we have bad weather.”
Hong Kong routinely train and play matches in Zhongshan, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
Praising the government’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department for providing travel and meal subsidies, Au said: “We have to keep facing strong teams to improve.
“Three of the world’s top four teams are Asian, which shows the sport is suitable for Asians. It’s not like basketball, for example, where you rely on height. We have the abilities to perform.”
After arriving back in Hong Kong on Friday, Au’s players will have only two days off before they resume training.
Most will play in next month’s Hong Kong International Baseball Open, at Sai Tso Wan, which is set to feature three local sides, two from the mainland, one from Australia and one from Chinese Taipei.
“We have improved in every aspect on the field, and in our team spirit, since the last National Games [in 2021],” Au said.
“After the tight matches we lost, nobody was happy, but they knew they were playing well and had to keep trying their best to make history for Hong Kong baseball.
“But there is still room to improve.”
Au began playing baseball more than 40 years ago. He started learning to coach at 12 and was taking a team by 16. Now 51, he has been on the city squad staff for more than 30 years and head coach for more than 10.
“I’m loving the players we have now,” Au said. “They come after school or work for training, it’s hard for them. It’s not for the money.
“When we go abroad for training and tournaments, they have to use annual leave.
“The president [Dave Ho] and chairman [Stanley Chong Ki-ming] are making a big effort to increase baseball’s profile. I really appreciate the players and the association, and I’m optimistic for the future.”


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Sport

Hong Kong

Sean Au Hok-leung in fourth decade on city team staff and excited about squad’s talent and potential after breakthrough National Games


Sean Au Hok-leung in fourth decade on city team staff and excited about squad’s talent and potential after breakthrough National Games.


Hong Kong baseball coach ‘loving’ dedicated players, sets new Asian Games target

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Sean Au Hok-leung in fourth decade on city team staff and excited about squad’s talent and potential after breakthrough National Games

Sean Au Hok-leung in fourth decade on city team staff and excited about squad’s talent and potential after breakthrough National Games