Get behind us: Hong Kong Olympic official appeals for government to take sport more seriously
Former Olympian Ronnie Wong says sustained support should be provided for Hong Kong sport as city’s athletes arrive in Rio
Ronnie Wong Man-chiu prefers to keep it real when it comes to Hong Kong sport and politics ahead of the team’s trip to Brazil.
As a high-profile Olympic stalwart since 1968, Wong is in prime position to use the Rio Games as a rallying cry for change in the city’s sporting landscape – something dear to his heart with visions of a future in which sport thrives as a major industry, providing jobs and on-field opportunities.
Politically, tensions are testing the one-country, two-systems concept amid calls from certain sections of the community for Hong Kong to seize its own identity, even broaching the taboo topic of independence.
And with Hong Kong sport already an independent entity from China and local athletes expected to challenge for medals in three sports, the Rio Games offers the ideal platform for Wong to fuel the “we are Hong Kong” political fire.
But the grizzled Hong Kong Olympic Committee secretary general, who escaped gun-wielding terrorists at the 1972 Munich Games, refuses to use the Olympics for anything but ensuring Hong Kong athletes are optimised to perform their best. After all, that’s his simple remit.
So while he makes the most of the opportunity to air grievances about what he says is the government’s overall apathy towards sport, Wong is loath to use the Olympics as a touchpoint for his call.