Low-key Hong Kong Open paying price for lacrosse’s inclusion in 2028 LA Olympics, says sport’s chief
- Raymond Fong says focus is shifting to 6-a-side version of the game, but vows traditional format ‘will never die’
- Hong Kong entering six teams across men and women’s competition at this week’s tournament in city
The less than stellar nature of this week’s Hong Kong Open was the inevitable outcome of lacrosse’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympics, the head of the sport’s governing body in the city has said.
Raymond Fong Kong said the focus was now firmly on the Sixes version of the game, which will be played in Los Angeles in four years time, adding that Hong Kong was not the only association facing this situation.
With qualifiers expected to begin in 2026, Fong said time was tight for teams to get ready, but that did not mean the traditional format, which involves 10 players aside, was disappearing.
“Lacrosse nations worldwide are shifting their focus onto the Sixes, and that includes us, too,” the chairman of the Hong Kong, China Lacrosse Association said. “But mark my words, 10-a-side is the tradition for our sports and it will never die, we still have the World Championships.”
Still, Fong revealed that World Lacrosse, the sport’s global governing body, was hoping to turn the Super Sixes into a six-stop series and Hong Kong, which hosted an event last December, was “almost certain” to be involved.
Fong said the initial idea would be to have two stops across three continents.
