Asian Games basketball U-turn as Hong Kong get dramatic 11th-hour call up for Hangzhou
- Men’s basketball team will be heading to Hangzhou after all, after Lebanon’s late drop-out – but there are still logistical issues to tackle
- ‘This is good news even though it has came a little late,’ Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, chef de mission of the Hong Kong delegation, says
Hong Kong’s men’s basketball team will feature at the Asian Games after all, after they received a dramatic 11th-hour call-up for Hangzhou just a week before the competition starts.
The Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC) and the Hangzhou Asian Games Committee have confirmed Hong Kong will be included in the event following the last-minute withdrawal of Lebanon.
The Middle Eastern country withdrew because several team members are injured, and they have local commitments in October. Hong Kong will now directly replace them in group B, and will play Taiwan on September 26, Mongolia two days later, and China on the 30th.
The U-turn comes after the Hong Kong Basketball Association was told last month the men’s team would no longer be featuring at the 19th Asiad. A late change in format had removed the preliminary round, depriving Hong Kong of the opportunity to earn a spot in the main competition, as they were not a top-16 ranked team in Asia.
“This is good news even though it has came a little late,” Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, chef de mission of the Hong Kong delegation to the Hangzhou Asian Games, said.
“We will have to make arrangements for accommodation and other related things, as basketball has a big team.”
