Tokyo Games: 2020 a year to forget for tearful hurdler Vera Lui as she continues to chase place in Olympics
- The 26-year-old sees her ranking drop to 106 from 35 because of a lack of competition caused by the Covid-19 pandemic
- Lui is refusing to give up on making her Olympic debut with overseas competitions being planned to help boost her ranking
Hurdler Vera Lui Lai-yiu struggled to hold back the tears as she reflected on 2020 – a year in which her world ranking dropped drastically because of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lack of competition.
Once 35th in the world and in a strong position to qualify in the women’s 100 metres hurdles for the Tokyo Olympics, Lui has plummeted to 106th in the latest rankings.
“Many of my Asian counterparts from Taiwan, China and Japan have overtaken me and these are my major competitors for a place in Tokyo this summer,” said Lui, who won the 100m hurdles at the 2021 Asics Athletics Series 1 at Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground on Sunday as domestic competition returned for the second straight weekend with the infection rate easing.
“It was a difficult year for many of the track and field athletes because we were forced to train without any targets and no one knows when competition would return. For us who are chasing a place in the Tokyo Olympic Games life was even harder. I stayed at the Sports Institute during the lockdown periods, focusing on training, hanging in there, not giving up hope but seeing my ranking drop steadily because there was no competition.
“There is no use in blaming anyone for that and we understand. What we can do is to look ahead despite the limited time remaining before the qualification period ends.”
