Japanese footballer torn over Hong Kong passport decision after domestic cup success
Advertisement
Sohgo Ichikawa, who was earmarked as a future star when he played for Hong Kong under-15s as a 13-year-old in 2018, capped a fabulous individual display with the last goal in his side's astonishing 4-0 final rout of Lee Man.
Captain Shu Sasaki delivered the pinpoint cross for Ichikawa to crown an incisive counter-attack, before orchestrating the raucous celebrations after full-time.
'At Southern, we're not special players, but everyone has spirit and helps each other – everyone has Southern blood,' wide player Sasaki said.
He has been with the club for five years, after coming to Hong Kong from homeland Japan in 2018 to join Rangers. Sasaki, 34, who has also played for Pegasus, reached seven years' residence in February this year.
Advertisement
He is now wrestling with the decision over whether to swap nationality by applying for a passport. 'I was born in Japan and grew up there, but Hong Kong is my second home,' Sasaki said. 'I would love to play for Hong Kong but it's not an easy decision, I'm thinking about it.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
a day ago
- RTHK
Duplantis sets new pole vault world record of 6.29m
Duplantis sets new pole vault world record of 6.29m Armand Duplantis celebrates after setting a new pole vault world record at 6.29m. Photo: AFP Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis bettered his pole vault world record by a centimetre, clearing 6.29 metres at the athletics meet in Budapest. Sweden's Duplantis broke the world record for the 13th time as he soared over the bar at the second attempt to improve on his 6.28m from Stockholm in June. It was the 25-year-old's third record of 2025 having also cleared 6.27m in Clermont-Ferrand in February. Duplantis notched up his 33rd competition victory, clearing 6.11m on his first attempt to finish ahead of Greece's Emmanouil Karalis (6.02m) and Australia's Kurtis Marschall (5.83m). On his second attempt at 6.29m, Duplantis touched the bar with one leg and his stomach, but it held, and the jump was validated. Since Ukrainian Sergey Bubka became the first athlete to clear 6 metres on July 13, 1985 in Paris, the world record has been broken 26 times, including 12 times by Bubka, 13 times by Duplantis and once by Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie. The US-born Duplantis first broke the world record in 2020 with 6.17m. Duplantis is favourite for a third consecutive outdoor world title in a month's time in Tokyo. On the track, Jamaican sprinter Bryan Levell laid down a marker for those championships by posting the third quickest time this year to win the men's 200m. The 21-year-old, who reached the semi-finals at last year's Olympics, headed into the race with a season's best of 20.10. He pulled away from the field in the home straight to win in 19.69 to clock the third best time of the year behind the Americans Noah Lyles (19.63sec) and Kenneth Bednarek (19.67sec). Levell smashed Erriyon Knighton's meeting record by 0.19sec leaving South African veteran Wayde van Niekerk a distant runner-up in 20.07. Olympic bronze medallist Muzala Samukonga held off Jereem Richards and Khaleb McRae to win the men's 400m in a season's best of 44.11 while Laban Kipkorir Chepkwony, who finished fourth at Kenya's World Trials last month, won the men's 800m in a personal best of 1min 42.96sec, breaking David Rudisha's meeting record from 2016. Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce only managed a fourth-placed finish in the women's 100m as Ivorian sprinter Marie-Josee Ta Lou Smith held off Tina Clayton and world 200m champion Shericka Jackson. (AFP)
HKFP
05-08-2025
- HKFP
Hong Kong gov't to look into inaccurate flag design used at rope-skipping competition in Japan
The Hong Kong government has said it will look into an incident at a rope-skipping competition in Japan over the weekend, during which an inaccurate design of the city's flag was allegedly displayed. The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) said that it would look into the issue with the Hong Kong Rope Skipping Association, China, after a resident reported the discrepancy to various government departments and the media, including photos and screenshots of the award ceremony. The Hong Kong flag depicts a white five-petalled bauhinia flower on a red background. Specifications for the Hong Kong flag are listed on the government's Protocol Division website. The official design, compared with the one used in the award ceremonies at the 2025 World Jump Rope Championships over the weekend, has petals that taper off more prominently into a point. Slightly more space is left between petals, and the stars are also larger. The rope-skipping association, the unofficial body representing the city's rope-skipping athletes, said in an emailed reply to HKFP on Tuesday that it 'has always strictly complied with the guidelines provided by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department regarding the use of the regional flag and national anthem at overseas competitions.' It added: 'For the 2025 World Jump Rope Championships, we have once again followed all official procedures, including downloading the regional flag file from the government's official website and supplying it to the event organizers.' The Hong Kong team took home seven gold medals, as well as five silver and 12 bronze medals, at the championships in the Japanese city of Kawasaki. Flag mishaps In May 2023, the top sports federation representing Hong Kong at the Olympics issued amended guidelines on the national anthem and the use of the city's flag. According to the guidelines issued two years ago, sports bodies associated with the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC), must collect a toolkit containing a CD or USB drive of the anthem and two physical Hong Kong flags from the federation before setting off for international sports events. If an incorrect flag is raised, the team leader must lead members in making a 'time out' gesture to object and call for a halt. The CSTB said in a reply to HKFP that, while the rope-skipping association was not a member organisation of the SF&OC, sports organisations should refer to the federation's updated guidelines on playing the national anthem and displaying the Hong Kong flag. The guidelines were amended in May 2023 after a spate of incidents involving a protest song being used in place of the Chinese national anthem at international sporting finals, including at an ice hockey game in Bosnia and Herzegovina in February 2023 and a rugby tournament in South Korea in November 2022. The Hong Kong rugby team was also seen holding a Hong Kong flag with an unofficial design at the ceremony, after which the rugby union said that the flag was given by a supporter, not the official flag carried by the team. In 2021, Angus Ng of the Hong Kong badminton team had an outdated version of the flag printed on his jersey at the Tokyo Olympics.
RTHK
04-08-2025
- RTHK
Yamashita wins Women's Open for first major crown
Yamashita wins Women's Open for first major crown Miyu Yamashita lifts the trophy after winning on the final day of the Women's British Open Golf Championship. Photo: AFP Japan's Miyu Yamashita won the Women's British Open by two strokes at Royal Porthcawl to clinch an emotional first major title. Yamashita carded a two-under par final round to hold off a strong challenge from England's Charley Hull on the Welsh links course. She finished on 11-under par for the tournament, with Hull and Japan's Minami Katsu ending in a tie for second place after final rounds of 69 left them on nine under. Just a day after turning 24, Yamashita became the third Japanese woman to win the British Open after Hinako Shibuno in 2019 and Ayako Okamoto in 1984. She joyously swigged from a bottle of champagne on the 18th green before wiping away tears of joy after sealing her victory. "To win such a historic tournament in front of all these amazing fans is such an incredible feeling," Yamashita said. "The course is set up to be very difficult but also in a brilliant condition," she added. "The amount of people supporting me today really pushed me towards the victory and this is for them." Yamashita's previous best performance in a major was a tie for second place at last year's Women's PGA Championship. She survived a stern test of her temperament on the last day after resuming with a one-stroke lead over South Korea's Kim A-lim. Having posted a bogey-free 65 on Friday, she had carded a two-over par 74 marred by erratic driving off the tee and struggles on the greens in the third round. Yamashita recovered her composure on Sunday as she embarked on a relentless march to the trophy. Prior to this year, Yamashita's highest finish at the Women's British Open was 13th in 2022, but she mastered the Porthcawl course in emphatic fashion. "To be part of such a moment in history is something special," she said. "Being my first win is something very special and to celebrate with everyone is an amazing feeling." (AFP)
