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South China Morning Post
26-03-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
‘Firing on all cylinders': Hong Kong tennis reprieved from doomsday-scenario funding cut
Removing elite status from Hong Kong tennis would have caused significant turbulence for a sport that is 'firing on all cylinders', according to the head of the local association. Advertisement Tennis had been threatened with demotion to Tier B standing at the city's Sports Institute, until new eligibility criteria drawn up this week handed the sport a minimum two-year stay of execution. Michael Cheng Ming-git, president of the Hong Kong, China Tennis Association (HKCTA), said Coleman Wong Chak-lam's run to the third round of this week's Miami Open was illustrative of Hong Kong tennis' efforts in nurturing elite players. He also backed the idea that a sport should be rewarded for staging major events. Hong Kong hosts one ATP 250, one WTA 250 and one WTA 125 tournament every year. Last year, the larger women's event was named tournament of the year at WTA 250 level, reclaiming a prize it first won in 2018. 'Tennis is one of the sports in Hong Kong that can be industrialised, commercialised and professionalised,' Cheng said. 'You need three building blocks: events, infrastructure, and elite and development pathway. They all go hand in hand. Advertisement 'Hong Kong is only the third Asian city to host both ATP and WTA events. We've won two global awards, and counting. Having our athletes featuring and doing well in our events will drive economic growth … and community engagement.'
South China Morning Post
22-03-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Snooker and tennis could be spared axe, Hong Kong chiefs eye change to elite status rule
More sports in Hong Kong could qualify for elite status at the city's Sports Institute and several under threat of being downgraded were expected to be thrown a lifeline, with officials considering changes to how they judge success, the Post has learned. Advertisement Snooker and tennis are among those who could benefit from the move, with neither sport having met the current criteria to maintain their Tier A rankings. For a sport to be considered elite, its athletes must qualify for the Olympics or Asian Games, and maintain a certain level of success in international competition. Sources said the rules required some 'minor modifications', and that was expected to result in a bigger pool of sports that qualified for support through the Hong Kong Sports Institute. The Elite Sports Committee was scheduled to meet on Monday to seek a consensus regarding the looming changes, and one committee member said the move was designed to aid the continued development of billiard sports - snooker and pool - in the city. Coleman Wong has been the sole success story for Hong Kong tennis at a global level. Photo: Jonathan Wong The source cited the relaxation of the minimum age limit for visiting licensed billiard establishments, among other changes in relevant laws and regulations, as an example.
Reuters
24-02-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Billiards making a comeback in Cuba despite hard times
HAVANA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Billiards are making a comeback in Communist-run Cuba as men and women take to tables in private bars and clubs, while fans hope someday the game will be officially recognized as a sport. Billiards was banned along with poker after Fidel Castro's 1959 Revolution because of its association with U.S. mob-run casinos and dictator Fulgencio Batista. But after the fall of the Soviet Union, tables began to appear in hotels, then venues and homes, although gambling remains taboo in the country. "If the Sports Institute were to promote a national federation, it would be excellent, because there is plenty of talent here," said carpenter Francisco Sosa, a former billiards player before the revolution. Sosa, 78, has installed four pool tables in his home in the Cerro municipality of Havana where he teaches the game to all comers, young and old, and male or female. Sosa built three of the tables from scratch -- no easy task, he said in a country of scarcity. "Getting supplies is a big headache," he said. The lack of basic materials such as wood to make the tables, or cloths and cues for practice affects billiard players at a time when recreational options are scarce in the country, given an economic and energy crisis, he said. Nayelis Guzman, one of the outstanding adolescents from the Cerro Sports Academy, said that she has made great progress in learning billiards thanks to "Professor Sosa". "I have been playing billiards for approximately two years ... and my dream is to represent Cuba in an international event," the young woman said, pointing at a group of balls before knocking them into the pocket.
South China Morning Post
06-02-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong water polo official admits fraud after pocketing HK$360,000 of funding
A former manager of the Hong Kong water polo team admitted on Thursday to falsely claiming more than HK$410,000 (US$52,655) in government training funds from the city's Sports Institute, and keeping almost all of it. Koo Yu-fat appeared in District Court and pleaded guilty to one count of fraud between January 2018 and September 2021, when he was honorary secretary of the water polo committee of the Hong Kong China Swimming Association, and then team manager. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said the 62-year-old had falsified the athlete training records he submitted to the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) every month. An investigation by the ICAC discovered that Koo had falsely claimed HK$412,000 on the basis that 33 athletes had attended 80 per cent of their training sessions. He then asked athletes to give him part or all of their allowances, totalling about HK$360,000. According to officials, Koo was caught following receipt of a 'corruption complaint in relation to the release of allowances to athletes of the Hong Kong water polo team'.
