Disruptions at the airport almost caused Hong Kong’s swimming team to scrap their Singapore World Cup campaign, one of the qualifying events for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Headed by Stephanie Au Hoi-shun and Chan Kin-lok, the six-member squad only managed to leave leave on Tuesday night for the third and final leg of Fina’s Asia series, but the flight was first cancelled on Monday night after the latest protests by demonstrators at Hong Kong International Airport. The local swimmers tried to board a flight on Tuesday evening but that flight was cancelled as well.
Later in the evening, the swimmers managed to book another flight and were let in by protesters after pleading to them that they were representing Hong Kong and it was very important for them to fly to Singapore in hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. The swimmers managed to catch the flight from Terminal 2.
“We are now trying to get a flight to Singapore on Wednesday morning, but no one knows what’s going to happen at the airport at this moment,” said head coach Chen Jianhong on Tuesday morning. “The Singapore leg is one of the Olympic qualifiers, which is important for Au, one of our best swimmers, especially after her performance at the Hong Kong Open Championships over the weekend, where Chan also did very well.
“But the safety of our swimmers should come first. If we cannot leave tomorrow, we will have to reconsider our plan as the Singapore Open will begin on Thursday. We also have to plan for the return to Hong Kong after the race is over on Saturday and no one can predict what will happen in the next few days.” Unable to board a flight all day on Tuesday, the swimmers will try to catch a flight to Singapore on Wednesday, depending on whether they can get confirmation from Cathay Pacific.
Au, a three-time Olympian since the 2008 Beijing Games, plans to have another crack at the Olympic qualifying A standard after equalling her season best in the women’s 100 metre backstroke on Sunday in Fo Tan.
The part-time model finished her favourite event in one minute and 0.81 seconds. The A standard qualifying time for Tokyo is 1:00.25. But her plans are now hanging in the air as protesters reoccupied Hong Kong airport on Tuesday and stopped most air traffic.
If the squad cannot compete at the World Cup in Singapore, there will not be any overseas competition for them until December, when Hong Kong send their swimmers to an open event in the United States, to be joined by US-based Siobhan Haughey and Jamie Yeung Zhen-mei for the women’s 4x100 metre medley relay team.
The Hong Kong medley relay team still have a chance of reaching the Tokyo Olympic Games after finishing 14th at the world championships in Gwangju, South Korea, last month. The quartet of Au, Chan, Yeung and Haughey clocked 4:03.52, two places behind the required ranking for making it to Tokyo. But four slots remain open for the relay.
“We want to do a better time in the US to strengthen our position in the medley relay,” said the coach.
