2024 Olympics: Bringing more athletes to Paris is a top priority for Hong Kong as the new supremo puts emphasis on the qualifying race

“This year we have some challenges ahead of us, the biggest of which is qualifying for the Paris Olympics because most sports are still in the qualifying stage,” Choi said as he met the media for the first time since its official opening Taking over the top position on January 1st.The Hong Kong Sports Institute campus will receive a new building this year. Photo: Winson Wong

The current goal of Paris was simply to get there. Only then, Choi said, will the focus be on whether Hong Kong can come close to achieving its best Olympic haul of six medals in 2021.

“This year is a big challenge because we did really well at the last Tokyo Olympics,” he said. “There is some pressure in that sense, but I think we have to manage expectations.

“That's why I don't predict how many medals we will win. But at the institute we will make the best preparations.

“Right now our priority is to get more athletes to qualify. This is the first thing we have to do and from there we will go step by step. We will give our best.”

A second area Choi focused on was upgrading the table tennis, fencing and karate facilities at the HKSI campus in Fo Tan.

Fencing chiefs had previously highlighted to The Post the need to expand a sport that brought Hong Kong Olympic gold for only the second time, when Cheung Ka-long triumphed at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

Cheung also rose to the top of the world rankings in men's foil, while Vivian Kong Man-wai is the current world No. 1 in women's épée, having previously competed there in 2019.

However, the city's team has access to 13 slopes or stripes for the 17 to 18 leading fencers, who typically compete for space, with some having to wait to train or do gym sessions, to allow access to all age group teams.

Hong Kong's karate program also boasts a world number one after Grace Lau Mo-sheung reached the top in women's kata last week.

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Karate and table tennis will soon be more spaciously accommodated in the new sports science building, freeing up space in the old building, which will be converted into an additional fencing hall to double the number of slopes.

“Right now the fencing hall is not enough,” Choi said.

Tony Choi has been the deputy managing director of the Hong Kong Sports Institute for the past seven years. Photo: Chan Kin-wa

Successor to Trisha Leahy, who stepped down in December after 15 years, former squash player and coach Choi has nearly 25 years of experience at the institute and has served as deputy CEO since 2016. In addition to overseeing preparations for Paris, he will lead work in Hong Kong towards the 2025 National Games.

The other immediate issue he will address is sports medicine, he said. In the annual keynote speech in October, the city's mayor, John Lee Ka-chiu, promised more resources.

A new position of medical director will be created, tasked with overseeing the HKSI's 1,500 athletes – around 600 of them full-time – and will be based in the new building, which is expected to be completed by the summer.