In-form Hong Kong athlete Chung looks for breakthrough year in 2023, as pre-season trials loom
- Phoebe Chung tipped to win high jump at Sunday’s competition in Wan Chai after impressive recent form
- 24-year-old won at last month’s Thailand Open, her first international event since last representing Hong Kong in 2017
High-jumper Phoebe Chung Wai-yan hopes to take a big leap forward in her career over the next 12 months, after representing Hong Kong for the first time in almost six years.
The 24-year-old will be in action this weekend at Wan Chai Sports Ground for the city’s pre-season trials, and enters Sunday’s competition on the back of a win in Bangkok last month.
Chung claimed gold medal with a jump of 1.78 metres at the Thailand Open, her first international competition after last representing Hong Kong in Macau in 2017.
Her triumph followed a breakthrough win last November at the local TCAA Championships, where she cleared 1.8 metres, becoming just the third Hong Kong athlete to clear the mark after Cecilia Yeung Man-wai and Fung Wai-yi.
“2023 will be a crucial year in our sports as there are a number of major international events in the region that Hong Kong athletes can look for good results,” Chung said.
“Clearing the 1.8m mark has certainly boosted my confidence and hopefully I can start from there and get better and better with the help of those international competitions.”
With coronavirus restrictions now easing, the region will see the return of several major competitions in 2023, including next month’s Asian Indoor Championships in Kazakhstan, the Asian Championships in Thailand in July, and September’s Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
