Covid-19 and Hong Kong’s cancelled sports events: Siobhan Haughey, Cheung Ka-long and other stars discuss
- Post puts the big issues to swimmer Siobhan Haughey, cyclist Sarah Lee, fencers Cheung Ka-long and Vivian Kong, and table tennis player Doo Hoi-kem
- We asked about their future plans, how the pandemic has changed them, the importance of staging events in Hong Kong – and the impact of cancelling them
Giving their thoughts were the city’s very finest: world champion swimmer and double Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Siobhan Haughey; Olympic champion Cheung Ka-long; his fellow fencer and world bronze medallist Vivian Kong Man-wai; the two-time Olympic bronze medal-winning cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze; and table tennis player Doo Hoi-kem, from Hong Kong’s bronze-winning women’s team at the Tokyo Games.
All were recognised among the top five women’s and men’s sporting stars at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, with Haughey and Cheung being voted Best of the Best by a judging panel, the media and the public.
And here, they open up about the past, present and future.
1) Where did these awards rank in your achievements, and what is left for you, given sporting careers are short?
Haughey: It’s an honour. And as far as I recall, for many years it was always won by female athletes, so it is even more special for me. I have to thank the team who have supported me – without them, I would not be here.
I see this honour as a halfway point: I’ve worked hard up to now, and it’s being recognised, but I can’t dwell on the past too much. I need to keep moving forward. I wish to continue working hard and using my accomplishments and actions as a role model to help create more socially uniting moments, and continue to be an inspiration and bring more glory to Hong Kong people.
