International Results
Due to the pandemic, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games were postponed to 2021 with the official name remaining unchanged. International competitions were either postponed, cancelled or inaccessible to Hong Kong athletes due to travel restrictions. For those competitions that were held and remained accessible, Hong Kong athletes continued to deliver impressive performances, including a number of new world and Asian records set in indoor rowing and swimming.
Records Set
Olympic & Paralympic Qualifications
As of 31 March 2021, seven sports had obtained qualifications in 24 events at the Tokyo Olympic Games, while four sports had qualified for the Paralympic Games in nine events. It is expected that more qualifying places will be achieved in upcoming qualification events.
Badminton
At the Thailand Open in January 2021, Ng Ka-long made a comeback in the semi-final against his world ranked number two Chinese Taipei rival, eventually winning a silver medal in the men’s singles in his first competition since the All England Open in March 2020.
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Billiard Sports
In March 2021, Hong Kong snooker player Ng On-yee became the first Asian woman to receive a two-year wild card to play on the World Snooker Tour from the start of the 2021/22 season and compete against the world’s best male athletes.
Rowing
Rowing athlete Chan Chi-fung set four indoor world records from July 2020 to January 2021, achieved on the Concept2 indoor rower with slides, in the four minutes, 30 minutes, half marathon and full marathon events of the men’s lightweight 19–29 category. In February 2021, he won a silver medal in the U23 men’s lightweight 2000m at the World Rowing Indoor Championships held virtually for the first time due to the pandemic, while Hung Wing-yan took silver in the U23 women’s event. One month later, Chan captured his second world competition award, winning third place in the men’s lightweight 19–29 race at the 2021 World Rowing Virtual Indoor Sprint.
Swimming
Swimmer Siobhan Haughey won 20 gold and 8 silver medals at the International Swimming League in October and November 2020, smashing the Asian short course record nine times and recording the second fastest time in history in the women’s 200m freestyle. In recognition of these excellent results, she was named the Asian Female Swimmer of the Year at the Swammy Awards for the second year in a row.
HKSAR Government 2020 Honours List
In recognition of their significant contributions to Hong Kong, Hon Ma Fung-kwok GBS JP, Director of the HKSI Board, and Dr Trisha Leahy SBS BBS, Chief Executive of the HKSI, were awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star and Silver Bauhinia Star respectively in the HKSAR Government’s 2020 Honours List.
Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards 2019
After a year of postponement due to the pandemic, the Cathay Pacific 2019 Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards Presentation Ceremony, organised by the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC), was held virtually on 10 April 2021 to commend local athletes on their outstanding performance in major international competitions in 2019. The ceremony was broadcast on the SF&OC’s social media platforms.
With the most votes among eight awardees of the Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards, cyclist Lee Wai-sze was named “Best of the Best”.
A total of 156 nominations were received from 50 National Sports Associations (NSAs). Winners were selected by votes from the judging panel, the sports media and the public.
* Hong Kong Paralympic Committee & Sports Association for the Physically Disabled
# Hong Kong Sports Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability
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Outstanding Junior Athlete Awards 2020
A total of four junior athletes, including Cheng Sin-yan and Ko Shing-hei from badminton, and Wong Chak-lam and Wong Hong-yi from tennis, received the Outstanding Junior Athlete Awards (OJAA) in recognition of their outstanding performance during the first quarter of 2020. Of the limited number of international competitions that have been held for junior athletes from April 2020 onwards as a result of the pandemic, there were no awardees for the second to fourth quarters. However, during the year, golfer Han Zi-lin and badminton player Jason Gunawan were awarded Certificates of Merit in the third and fourth quarters respectively.
Organised by the HKSI and sponsored by the Sports for Hope Foundation since 2012, with support from the SF&OC and the Hong Kong Sports Press Association, the OJAA recognises the achievements of outstanding local junior athletes under the age of 19 on a quarterly basis.