National Games co-host Hong Kong plots glory as it starts 100-day countdown
City staging eight events at 15th edition and eyeing medal opportunities in fencing, cycling, golf, rugby sevens and triathlon
After the Hong Kong Football Festival finished on Thursday, the city’s attention has turned the major role it will play in staging the 2025 National Games.
Saturday marked 100 days until the multi-sports bonanza starts on November 9, with eight competition events being hosted in Hong Kong.
Yeung Tak-keung, head of the city’s National Games Coordination Office, has acknowledged that potential success on home soil was a factor determining which sports would come to the city.
“One of the considerations is the competitiveness of our athletes,” Yeung said. He identified fencing, rugby sevens, golf and track cycling as likely sources for Hong Kong medals.
The city’s triathletes, men’s handball players, and representatives in beach volleyball and under-22 men’s basketball will get a shot at glory in front of hometown support, too.
Announcing last year which sports would come to the city, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said: “The [Hong Kong] government will adhere to the principle of ‘simple, safe and wonderful’ in organising the Games, making full use of existing venues.” Government estimates forecast 150,000 visitors for the Games would spend at least HK$600 million.