Hong Kong polo community out to change public perception of it being a ‘rich man’s sport’
They say the sport, which is no more expensive than golf or skiing, has been around a long time but not much has been done to popularise it
The polo community in Hong Kong says the sport is underdeveloped and is lagging behind other countries in the region despite the sport’s roots being planted in the city before it was in the other nations, more than 50 years ago.
Active local players across the various age levels also want to change the general perception of polo being a niche sport, saying it was not a “rich man-only” sport.
Andrew Leung Hok-yuen, who in 2018 founded Hong Kong Polo Development, a grass roots movement dedicated to growing the sport within the region’s dynamic equestrian scene, said Hong Kong was an anomaly in terms of “every developed city having a polo club”.
“I’m trying to think which cities do not,” he said. “Even Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea, China [have polo clubs] – the odd one out is Hong Kong.”
Leung, Samson Wong and Wong’s daughter Sharmaine Wong Qian-yu were among 20-plus active polo players in Hong Kong, and Wong senior believed Hong Kong should look to Singapore as an example, given the two places were “so similar in so many different ways”.
