Breakdancers compete for Hong Kong crown, as B-Boys’ final goes to the wire and injury thwarts B-Girl
- The four breakers who competed for the city at the Asian Games all reach their finals at the Hong Kong Breaking Team Qualifier
- B-Boy C Plus and B-Boy Think go to a tiebreaker, while B-Girl Lady Banan struggles with an injury from the Games in Hangzhou
Hundreds of spectators watched on during the two-day Hong Kong Breaking Team Qualifier finals, as the city’s top B-Boys needed a tiebreaker to separate them and a women’s finalist forfeited a shot at victory because of a knee injury.
Olympian City Mall transformed to accommodate the finals on Saturday and Sunday. Among the 16 contestants who reached the final day of competition – eight men and eight women – four were competing fresh from dancing in the Asian Games.
Wong Chiu-wai (B-Girl Lady Banan), Chan Ka-yi (B-Girl Lady Little) and Sze Ka-yam (B-Boy C Plus) had reached the round of 16 in Hangzhou, while Tsang Tsz-wa (B-Boy Think) was eliminated in the preliminaries. And the four dominated the final day of competition in West Kowloon, earning spots in their respective finals.
Lady Little and Lady Banan – nursing a knee injury she suffered in Hangzhou – earned 2-0 wins over semi-final opponents Helen Ho Pui-yee (B-Girl Pui Yee) and Cheung Lai-yi (B-Girl Ifree) respectively.
They were then level at 1-1 heading into the final’s last round, but Lady Banan opted out of the final battle to avoid aggravating her injured knee, giving the trophy to her opponent.
“My goal for today was just to reach the last day of competition, but I did not expect to go to the final, so I am OK [with the result],” she said.
Lady Little said she had been keen to show her improvement since Hangzhou.
“I went into this battle wanting to win, of course, but the most important thing is to show my new skills,” she said. “Between competitions, there is usually a two or three-month gap, so I want to make use of the time and show others that I’m getting better.”
B-Boy Think bested Luk Chung-yin (B-Boy SoulGreen) and Lai Tsz-kin (B-Boy ChildKin) to earn a spot in the final, while C Plus beat SoulGreen – who took third place – in a tiebreaker round.
There was another tiebreaker in the final, with the judges giving Think the win with three of the five votes.
Think said he did not expect to win, given that he too had a leg injury that limited his movements.
“Even though I am injured, I forget all about it when I dance,” he said.
C Plus was another who was eager to show off the moves he had acquired since Hangzhou.
“I just wanted to enjoy myself … and today I was able to – it was so fuelling,” he said. “After the Asian Games, I just wanted to make new fresh moves every day, and that’s my goal for the next month.”
The breakdancers’ attentions will turn to the Breaking For Gold event in December, where they will have a chance to reach the Olympic Qualifier Series.
