Hong Kong gymnast Shek Wai-hung makes Baku World Cup final, despite being only ‘70 per cent fit’ after Covid-19 infection
- Olympian has missed past two legs of series in Doha and Cairo after falling ill in Germany in February
- Coach Sergiy Afagontsev says for first two weeks after testing negative, Shek could not ‘even make a simple vault’
Hong Kong gymnast Shek Wai-hung is through to the final of the vault at the Baku World Cup, despite not having fully recovered from Covid-19.
After missing two legs of the World Cup series, the 30-year-old made a comeback in the last event in Azerbaijan, finishing eighth in Friday’s qualifiers with a total score of 14.133.
With coach Sergiy Afagontsev saying Shek was only operating at “70 per cent”, the Hongkonger opted to play it safe and competed with a downgraded routine (5.2 and 4.8) instead of his signature “Ri-Se-gwang”(6.0).
“My body conditions have been affected, and I am still not fully recovered. I chose a less difficult routine in Baku for safety reasons,” Shek said.
The only Hong Kong gymnast to appear at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, Shek qualified for the final of the Cottbus World Cup in Germany on February 27 after performing his famous routine twice in qualifying, but subsequently tested positive for Covid-19.
As a result, he not only missed the final there, but was unable to compete in the next two World Cup stops in Doha and Cairo.
