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CHAN KINWA

Dreams are free, but not for Hong Kong sailors Chan Yu-ting and Fung Tat-choi.
The pair have thrown a million dollars to the wind - and are about to sell one of their boats - to finance their quest to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Chan and Fung gave up their full-time jobs last December to concentrate on perfecting their skills, both physically and mentally, in the Nacra 17, one of the most difficult sailing events.

"It may be a bit ironic - athletes having to sell their own equipment to raise funding," said 33-year-old Chan, after they returned last week from the Nacra 17 World Championship in Aarhus, Denmark, where they finished 20th in the silver fleet, and 53rd overall.
"Many of our friends say we are crazy.
"But we both love the sport, in particular enjoying the speed of Nacra 17. Sailing is not a dominant sport in Hong Kong but if we can reach the Olympic Games, we can inspire others who want to chase their dreams and also help promote sailing in the community," added Chan.

And their commitment and dedication finally paid off this week when the Hong Kong Sports Institute opened its doors to them as senior squad members under the athlete scholarship programme.
Subject to approval of HKSI management, they will receive a full range of support in matters like coaching, training and competitions, sports science and medical treatment as they prepare for the crucial Olympic qualifiers in Qingdao in September.
It is almost 20 years since Hong Kong last sent five sailors to the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games - the same Games at which windsurfer Lee Lai-shan won the first and only gold medal for Hong Kong.

Windsurfing has been running separately as a sailing class with its own administration and financial support from authorities, although it still comes under the auspices of sailing at major games.
Chan was a coach at Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club before she quit to commit to full-time training, while 53-year-old Choi, a graduate at Sea School in Stanley, has been a freelance sailing coach for more than 10 years.
In 2012, when the International Sailing Federation (Isaf) introduced Nacra 17 as a new Olympic class for the 2016 Rio Games, the duo thought this was their chance.

"I have been racing in Hobie 16, which is also a multihull boat like Nacra 17, and have known Fung for a long time as a good sailor," said Chan, who finished 11th with an Australian partner at the Hobie 16 World Championship in Weihai, China, in 2010.
If we can just finish first among all Asian crews, we can qualify. And we are not without a chance
Chan Yu-ting
"Nacra 17 is also operated by two crew members of different gender and we thought let's form a partnership and try to get to the Olympic Games."
Chan and Fung have taken part in eight major regattas in the past two years, including two Olympic qualifying events, the world championships in Santander, Spain, in September 2014 and the Nacra championships in Denmark.
The top 10 finishers in Santander booked their tickets to Rio, along with the three top pairs in Aarhus. The Hong Kong crew have a final throw of the dice in the World Cup series in Qingdao in September which serves as the continental qualifier.

"If we can just finish first among all Asian crews, we can qualify," said Chan. "And we are not without a chance. Our major threats will come from the Japan, Singapore and Thailand crews, but we have beaten them all before under light wind conditions, which are similar to what we expect in Qingdao.
"Nacra 17 is a new boat and is difficult to control because it can be very fast. But we have been racing quite a lot since last year and are developing the knowhow. If light winds prevail in Qingdao as expected, we are pretty confident.
"We will ship the boat to Qingdao for training, which we plan to start in August and can give it to the new owner, if we can find one, after the regatta is over," said Chan. "We have bought a second boat which we use for competitions and training when we are based in Europe. It is also on the way to Qingdao."
Hong Kong has another Nacra 17 pair gearing up for Qingdao - Tong Yui-shing and Tong Kit-fong, who won a bronze medal in the Hobie 16 at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon.
They were forced to abandon the Hobie 16 as it is no longer an Asian Games class. As scholarship athletes at the HKSI, they can only compete in Asian Games or Olympic class.
The two Tongs also competed in the Aarhus regatta, but finished 62nd overall, nine places behind Chan and Fung.
"It's unfair to compare the results as it was only their second regatta in Nacra 17," said Fung. "Tong Yui-shing is a top multihull sailor in Hong Kong but maybe they have started their preparations too late."
Chan Yuk-wah, who represented Hong Kong in the men's 470 at the 1996 Atlanta Games, also said the preparation time for the Olympic qualifiers was too short.
"We have been working hard to see another sailor from Hong Kong compete at the Olympics since 1996," said Chan, a coach and council member with the Hong Kong Sailing Federation.
"We have a good chance [for Rio] as the sport has been growing over the past couple of years, but we are working against time."


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Rio 2016 Olympic Games

Hong Kong sailors shell out a million dollars of their own money in bid to fulfil their Olympics dream

Fung Tat-choi and Chan Yu-ting at their sailing club in Lantau. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Fung Tat-choi and Chan Yu-ting put up a sail on their boat. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Fung Tat-choi and Chan Yu-ting. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Fung Tat-choi and Chan Yu-ting are set to receive Sports Institute support

The International Sailing Regatta 2014, the first test event for the Rio 2016 Olympics in Guanabara bay in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: AFP

A view of the harbour in Qingdao, where the Asian Olympic qualifiers will be held. Photo: Xinhua

Cash-strapped young Hong Kong sailors ready to quit the sport if they don't make it to Rio Olympics

Hong Kong sailors Chik Ho-yin and Tse Sui-lun feel hard done by over funding. Photo: Nora Tam

Coach Chan Yuk-wah watches Chik Ho-yin fine-tune his boat. Photo: Nora Tam

Hong Kong sailors Chik Ho-yin and Tse Sui-lun fear they will have to quit. Photo: Nora Tam

Hong Kong sailors Chik Ho-yin and Tse Sui-lun in training at Hong Kong Sea School in Stanley earlier this year. Photo: Nora Tam

Sport

Hong Kong

Chan Yu-ting and Fung Tat-choi gave up jobs last December to concentrate on perfecting their skills


Chan Yu-ting and Fung Tat-choi have sacrificed everything in bid to make it to Rio 2016
