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Mike Chan

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.
“I feel like so many athletes put so much into their careers to work towards opportunities and tournaments like the Asian Games, and for us to not even get a chance to qualify and earn our spot is very disappointing,” Yang said.
Marco Leung Ka-hin, who plays for local side Chun Lung in the A1 Division, admitted there had not been much expectation the team would get into the Games, given they are ranked 26th in the region.
“We were lucky to get it back in Hangzhou,” he said. “I’d be very happy to play at the Asian Games again, but it is what it is.”
Before the Hangzhou Games in 2023, the sport’s world governing body sanctioned the cancellation of the qualifying rounds, leaving the city’s men out of the competition before Lebanon dropped out at the last minute.
Since then, the men’s team have played just 11 official Asia Cup qualifying matches, winning twice.
A player who asked not to be named said the low regional ranking was the result of “inadequate long-term planning”, pointing the finger at the recently departed chairman Chan.
“There has never been a formal long-term plan to develop our national team programme,” he said. “While other countries continue to climb in the rankings, we’ve just been satisfied with participation.”
Former national team player and current assistant coach Lee Ki said he was lucky to have played at multiple regional cups and championships, as well as two Asian Games, in 2014 and three years ago.
“With the current environment, we can just forget about playing in any of the bigger tournaments for the next 10, if not 20 years,” he said.
Li Tsz-kwan, a key player on the Hong Kong women’s team who would have been appearing at her fourth Games, was equally disappointed.
“We never had too many tournaments to play for to start with, and last year’s Asia Cup was our first in 10 years,” said Li, a member of the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association team Shijiazhuang Win Power.
“It’s quite discouraging looking at this. We had regular, long-term training, but we had no matches to gain experience, and we were just practising. We wouldn’t even know what our target should be now that the Asian Games are also gone.”


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Glen Yang was called up for Hong Kong training even though officials may have known the city would not be playing at the Asian Games this year. Photo: EASL

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Sport

Basketball

Hong Kong

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


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.


Fiba (International Basketball Federation)

Basketball Association of Hong Kong, China

Hong Kong basketball players ‘sad but not surprised’ after learning about Games axe

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}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

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