Asian Games: Hong Kong high jumper Phoebe Chung keen to test progress before heading to Hangzhou
- 25-year-old struggled in Asian Championships and World University Games because of a sprained ankle
- Local meet at Tseung Kwan O Series will be last in the city before track and field events get under way at regional multi-sport event
Hong Kong high jumper Phoebe Chung Wai-yan will put her injured ankle to the test this weekend, as the city’s athletes take part in a final meet before this month’s Asian Games.
The 25-year-old cleared a personal best 1.84 metres in the Taiwan Open in May, earning her one of the two spots at the regional multi-sport event, before winning silver at an All China Athletics Series with 1.80m,
But since then she has struggled, with disappointing performances at the Asian Championships and World University Games.
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A full-time athlete at the city’s Sports Institute, Chung said she had hurt herself before travelling to Bangkok for the championships in July and the “results were not unexpected”.
“Now, the injury looks much better after treatment and although it’s not 100 per cent fully recovered, I would like to give a try in a real competition to decide what to do ahead of the Hangzhou Games,” she said.
“If there is no reaction of my injury after the event, I will probably take a more aggressive training approach in the preparation for Hangzhou, but if not, I will have to stay a bit conservative in my training.”
Chung failed to record any result in Bangkok after three unsuccessful attempts and managed a mediocre 1.7 metres at the University Games, far short of her personal best.
But the chance to represent Hong Kong for the first time at the Asian Games has fired her determination, and she said she believed matching her personal best would see her finish in the top five.
“The medals will probably need a jump of over 1.9 metres which will be quite a high standard,” she said.
Compatriot Cecilia Yeung Man-wai was fifth at the 2018 Games in Jakarta with 1.80 metres, but the injury-plagued high jumper, who holds a Hong Kong record 1.88 metres, failed to make the squad this time and will instead travel to Australia with the hope of regaining her form before next season.
This weekend’s two-day series will see many of the city’s Asian Games representatives testing their progress with three weeks before the opening ceremony in Hangzhou.
Hurdlers Mui Ching-yeung and Lee Ka-yiu will both start in the men’s 110 metre hurdles, along with their women’s counterpart Vera Lui Lai-yiu, the only athletics medal winner at the last Asian Games.
Another women’s representative Shing Cho-yan is absent because of pulled leg muscles. Mui and Lee will face stiff competition from Cheung Wang-fung and Hong Kong record holder Chan Chung-wang, who will be making a rare appearance after opting to spend more time on his studies rather than competition.
The men’s sprinters will all be in action, headed by the two 100-metre representatives Lee Hong-kit and Shak Kam-ching, along with the three other 4x100 metre relay team members, Chan Yat-lok, Felix Diu Chun-hei and Ng Ka-fung.
Yue Nga-yan and Shannon Chan will also start in the women’s long jump and triple jump respectively.
Hong Kong is sending one of its largest track and field squads to Hangzhou, with 27 athletes making the trip for the Games, which run from September 23 to October 8.
