Hong Kong breakdancers hope Olympics dream becomes reality as Road to Paris kicks off
- Hundreds turn out for the first round of the 2022 Hong Kong Breaking Team Qualifier at Olympian City
- ‘We’re an Olympic sport,’ declares Marco Chung of Hong Kong DanceSport Association, who says it is time for the public to learn more about the sport
Hong Kong breakdancers have kicked off their bid to reach the 2024 Paris Olympics with team qualifiers at a packed city shopping centre, hoping to raise public awareness and attract new blood to the fast-growing sport.
A total of 55 men and women, or Bboys and Bgirls as they are known, competed for spots in the event at Olympian City in Kowloon, with Tsang Tsz-wa (Bboy Think) and Chan Ka-yi (Bgirl Lady Little) crowned champions.
“It is a good start for breaking to stage in the mall so that more people can see what breakdancing is. We’re not streeters, we’re an Olympic sport,” Marco Chung Hau-cheong (Bboy MC), committee member of the Hong Kong DanceSport Association breaking division, said.
“Before, we always staged the breaking competitions in the stadium or in some private studios, so not many people could watch it. Now that we have a chance to compete for a spot in the 2024 Paris Olympics, it is time for the public to learn more about it.”
“I’ve heard that someone from fencing swap to breaking, and hopefully with this hosted in the mall, more people will find interest.”
The thumping hip-hop music drew a large crowd to the atrium of the shopping centre, where breakdancers performed all day on the dance floor.
Chung, who has been breakdancing for 15 years and is now helping to organise breaking events in Hong Kong, said there were around 500 breakers with 100 active members in the city.
“We had 55 breakers participating, but we hope that hundreds or thousands of people will participate in the competitions in the near future,” he said.
