A 40-member delegation from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region — including 22 athletes — is primed to harness a unique “home-field advantage” at the forthcoming 12th World Games in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China’s Sichuan province.
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The Hong Kong players will compete across eight sports — air sports, billiards, dancesport, karate, orienteering, squash, water skiing, and wushu — with their eyes set on surpassing the five-medal haul of one gold and four bronze from the last Games in Birmingham, in the US state of Alabama, three years ago.
The World Games 2025, slated for Aug 7-17, marks the Games’ debut in the country and yet another international multisport event held in the western metropolis following the 2023 Chengdu Universiade.
Over the 11-day course, over 4,000 athletes from nearly 120 countries and regions are expected to take part in 255 events across 60 disciplines of 34 sports, most of which are not Olympic events.
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Speaking at the flag presentation ceremony on Monday, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui rallied the athletes to seize the valuable platform “where non-Olympic athletes can shine”, gain experience, and proudly display the city’s sportsmanship to the world.
Reflecting on the Hong Kong SAR team’s impressive performance at the 2022 edition, Law expressed her hope and confidence to see the athletes once again test their limits.
In Birmingham, Hong Kong players achieved record-breaking success with one gold and four bronze medals, with snooker player Cheung Ka-wai claiming the city’s first-ever World Games champion.
For Hong Kong athletes, this is the time to bring glory to both the city and the nation, said Law.
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Law reasserted the SAR government’s commitment to fostering sports development within the city via its five-pronged strategy — promoting community sports, supporting elite athletes, maintaining Hong Kong as a hub for major international sports events, enhancing professionalism, and developing sports as an industry.
She highlighted the establishment of the Kai Tak Sports Park — the city’s largest integrated sports and entertainment precinct — as a new landmark in this all-encompassing endeavor.
At the ceremony, Olympic karate medalist Grace Lau Mo-sheung, who won a bronze medal at the 2022 World Games, shared her excitement and ambition for the upcoming event.
“This time, my target is to get a gold medal there, based on the competitions I have had in the past two years,” she said.
Lau said Hong Kong players absolutely have a home-field advantage when competing on the Chinese mainland, citing the gold medal she clinched at the 2024 Asian Karate Championships in Hangzhou.
“The World Games 2025 will be my first time to be in Chengdu, so I’m very excited about the environment, competition, training, and culture there. Looking forward to it,” Lau added.
Timothy Fok Tsun-ting, president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, said he hopes the city’s players can make breakthroughs and accumulate experience through competitions with top opponents, improve their technical skills, build international friendships, and showcase the vitality and friendliness of Hong Kong athletes to the world.
