Tony Kwok says we must step up commitment to developing sports to benefit from its healing power
On Aug 19, Hong Kong for the first time loaded two open top buses with our triumphant Olympic athletes to parade down the city center along Nathan Road and Salisbury Road to celebrate their Tokyo Olympic success. Our athletic heroes were cheered by the enthusiastic crowd lining the pavement with many waving Hong Kong Special Administrative Region flags. This impromptu celebratory display by ordinary residents strikes a stark contrast to the hellish condition at the same location two years ago when rioting mobs threatened to tear down our transport infrastructure and threw petrol bombs at the Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station. The message to the SAR government is clear: Investment in sports can be the best unifying means to heal our society’s divisions.
Hong Kong’s 46-strong Olympic contingent garnered one gold, two silver and three bronze medals, ranking 49th in the overall medals table despite its minuscule size when compared with other teams representing larger economies or with a much larger population base. We are, indeed, ahead of Austria, Portugal, Finland, South Africa, Egypt, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Argentina, Mexico, etc.
Our Olympic athletes’ success has had an extraordinary unifying effect on our once-fractious community as sports are not defined by political, religious, philosophical or gender boundaries. Given the destructive political infighting we went through in the last two years, we must step up our commitment to the development of sports to benefit from its wonderful healing power for a community once at each other’s throats
In fact, the six medals do not tell the whole story of our success. For me, one of the most thrilling matches I watched on television was the badminton mixed doubles quarterfinal where the Hong Kong pair Tang Chun-man and Tse Ying-suet beat Great Britain in a very closely fought match. Although they eventually lost in the semi-final to China’s national team and the bronze-medal match to Japan, they have made history to join the top four in the world and deserve no less appreciation than the medal winners. There are a few more such examples among the Hong Kong team in getting into the top eight. It is only right that our reward system should cover those who have reached the top eight, which is already quite an achievement.
However, such success will undoubtedly raise the people’s expectations of our future Olympic medal contestants. If the experience of the Olympic champions is any guide, we must devote equal resources to strengthening our athletes’ mental toughness and psychological well-being as on their physical conditioning. As our swimming double silver medalist Siobhan Haughey said, the mind may constitute 80 percent of the decisive factor in winning at the elite level. This we can learn from China’s national team, whose athletes performed extremely well at critical moments in diving and shooting.
Our Olympic athletes’ success has had an extraordinary unifying effect on our once-fractious community as sports are not defined by political, religious, philosophical or gender boundaries. Given the destructive political infighting we went through in the last two years, we must step up our commitment to the development of sports to benefit from its wonderful healing power for a community once at each other’s throats. And there is the not inconsequential side effect of improving our people’s health in the process as more of them take up sports.
Meanwhile, let’s give credit where credit is due. Our recent Olympic success is largely due to the government’s past enhanced resource support to the Hong Kong Sports Institute, having allocated HK$737 million (US$95 million) for the institute in the 2021-22 financial year — up about 42 percent from 2017-18. But this is nowhere near enough.
First of all, support at the top policy level is essential to design an effective long-term sports development program. At present, the sports portfolio is tagged under the wide-ranging Home Affairs Bureau. But the home secretary’s plate is already overflowing with important and sensitive duties ranging from conducting various elections and the work of district councils. He is not likely to have any time left to lend his undivided attention to promoting sports development. Although he is assisted by a sports commissioner, the latter’s rank is not senior enough to influence top policy decisions. Consequently, if the government really wants to demonstrate its political will to promote sports, it should upgrade the post to that of a policy secretary, similar to the sports minister in the central government, to take charge in the designing and implementing of a cohesive sports strategy that attracts the best talent and ensures that they receive optimum support in all aspects. It also gives the sports bureau secretary the clout to approach big business for sponsorship and/or partnership in the promotion of sports in Hong Kong. The Hang Seng Bank’s successful table tennis youth development program sets a good template for other businesses to follow.
Second, sports talent needs to be identified at an early stage. The government can adopt a system similar to the Social Welfare Department’s “one social worker per school” approach by providing funding for every primary and secondary school to have a professional coach, whose job is to identify the young talent for more specialized training. At the same time, schools should be required to set aside more time for students to exercise, and school tournaments should be organized more regularly, not just once a year, to encourage schools to maintain the momentum in their training of school teams. We can also learn from the success on the Chinese mainland with their feeder system. The identified young talent in schools can be offered enhanced training in the respective district training centers to be set up in our 18 districts, then the regional training centers and the most promising ones can go to the Sports Institute for full-time professional training. Such a feeder system on the mainland has ensured sustained successes in table tennis, badminton, gymnastics and diving. However, it is crucial that such a feeder system and its selection process should be based entirely on meritocracy and that there should be no backdoor pathway for anyone, however well-connected.
At present, only 20 out of 60 sports in Hong Kong qualify as elite sports to receive training at the Sports Institute. The qualification for elite sports is based on the respective sport’s successes in international and regional competitions. But the problem is that if the sport does not qualify as an elite sport, it will be deprived of professional training and supporting resources and it will further diminish their prospect of ever achieving success in international competitions. The long-term view must dictate that in assessing a sport’s merit for government support, we must also take into consideration its popularity among Hong Kong people and suitability for the local environment. Therefore, sports like soccer, skateboarding and ice skating, which are highly popular among children in Hong Kong, should be considered for government subsidies.
The SAR government should be commended for buying the broadcasting rights of the Tokyo Olympics and allowing free full usage by all television stations. This exerts a most motivating effect on our athletes, knowing that their every move is being watched by supporters back home and their success cheered on by many Hong Kong residents glued to the screens. The scene of the raising of the SAR flag accompanied by the national anthem in the gold medal presentation ceremony is itself an education in patriotism. Following the successful broadcasting of the Olympics, the government should seriously consider buying the broadcasting rights to the Asian Games in Hangzhou next year. Hong Kong residents deserve the right to watch our athletes shine again in these major sports events, instead of having to pay to watch on private television.
Most importantly, it’s about time that the government dedicate one of RTHK’s three channels to sports. This is already a common practice among most developed economies. It may even turn out to be a money-spinner as sports and successful marketing have become two sides of the same coin. It is also the most accessible communication avenue to reach our youth, as many of them prioritize sports in their TV viewing habits. With live broadcasts of local sports events, school tournaments as well as international events when our athletes take part, a dedicated sports channel on TV would exert a huge influence on how our young people lead their lives. They would have wholesome athletes to look up to as role models, to learn about discipline and hard work, instead of watching belligerent radical politicians seeking the limelight with their anti-social behavior.
The RTHK sports channel could go into partnership with the CCTV sports channel to broadcast some of the international events with mainland athletes, which undoubtedly would enhance Hong Kong people’ patriotism watching mainland athletes excel on the world stage.
With the opening of the Kai Tak Sports Park in 2023, and full implementation of a long-term comprehensive elite sports program, Hong Kong should now consider bidding to host the Asian Games, the earliest opportunity being in 2038. This will give us a goal to strive for and the incentive to develop Hong Kong into an Asian sports city to match our world-renowned economic vibrancy.
A lot has been proposed in raising the incentive for professional athletes, such as the provision of further education and future coaching opportunities after their competition days. I suggest all Olympic medal winners be allocated a standard Home Ownership Scheme flat, which will go a long way toward solving one of their most worrisome future concerns, thereby allowing them to focus on their immediate athletic goals. I am sure no HOS applicant would object to this well-earned reward!
The author is an adjunct professor of HKU Space, honorary advisor at Hong Kong Squash and a former chairman of its executive committee.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.