Tag: sport

Hong Kong At The Women’s Sevens

After a disappointing tournament in 2017 the Hong Kong women’s team again look to make their debut at the Hong Kong Stadium and Coach Kevin West has picked a squad for the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series Qualifier that blends experience and youth.

Five players are set to make their sevens debut at So Kon Po – the newcomers are Stephanie Chan Chor-ki, Vivian Poon Hoi-yan, Amber Tsang Wing-chi, Agnes Chan Tsz-Ching and Agnes Tse Wing-kui.

While captain and vice captain Christy Cheng Ka-chi and Natasha Olson-Thorne both make their eighth Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens appearance.

“It’s a good group,” said West. “It’s a real mix of experience and youth, which is what we’ve been trying to do. There are five making their Hong Kong debuts, but we’ve been lucky because they’ve already had tournaments in Fiji and Borneo. They all have some tournament experience – not of the level of Hong Kong maybe, but there’s only one way to find that out isn’t there?”

West continued “Agnes Chan was one of our great finds at the fifteens world cup and she has just kicked on since then; it’s great to have her in. Vivian, Amber and Stephanie all give us a degree of pace, they make the squad slightly pacier throughout the park, rather than having one or two fliers. All of them play as if they’ve got nothing to lose, which is great.”

The debuts are partially injury-forced, (after the loss of wings Chong Ka-yan and Aggie Poon Pak-yan and fly half Lee Tsz-ting in the build-up). “We have had to look at things after losing some of our major strike threats in Aggie and Ka-yan, and a lot of experience in BB, but that’s the nature of the sport – with the newcomers we are well covered,” said West.

About Agnes Tse, who only joined the squad this month, West said “I coached her in our junior development fifteens programme… We particularly needed to cover that outside back area, the centre/wing area, which kept some of the others from making the squad at the end of the day, but Agnes has obviously done really well. She has earned her selection.”

“She’s tough and she has speed. Her job for us is to have a go, to take the line on. She’s good in the tackle and quite physical. She’s settled in really well and done brilliantly really. She is a level, mature girl, who I’m sure will just put her head down, take it all in stride and work hard,” added West.

Hong Kong open the tournament against Brazil (11.36), before playing more familiar foes in China (13.48) and Kazakhstan (16.22).

“Like just about every team we will be playing they’re bigger than us,” West said of the Brazilians, who beat World Series side and Asian champions Japan twice en route to a ninth-place finish in Rio.

“They also have a bit of pace. Actually there are a lot of similarities in the style of play throughout the group, with China and Kazakhstan also having a real physical element. We are prepared for that,” said West.

With a chance to play on the Stadium pitch during Hong Kong Sevens – and a spot on the World Series up for grabs West has the squad focused on the weekend but is also looking to the future.

“We are taking Hong Kong very seriously. It is our home tournament, so there is both a need and some pressure for us to perform, but we are very aware that our major goal this year is the Asian Games.

“So, for these girls to get this sort of tournament under their belts, against some of the world’s best and some of the competition we will play at the Games will hold us in good stead regardless of anything else,” said West.

The action begins at So Kon Po, directly across from the Hong Kong Stadium, on Thursday, 5 April. After the pool stages, the quarterfinalists (top eight) of the 12-team international competition will move to the Stadium on Friday, 6 April, as part of the opening day’s action at the Hong Kong Sevens. The winner of the Qualifier receives an automatic berth on next season’s World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series.

Hong Kong Women’s Sevens Squad – World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series Qualifier 2018 :
Christy Cheng Ka-chi (Captain),
Natasha Olson-Thorne (Vice Captain),
Agnes Chan Tsz-Ching,
Stephanie Chan Chor-ki,
Ivy Kwong Sau-yan,
Melody LiNim-yan,
Nam Ka-man,
Vivian Poon Hoi-yan,
Sham Wai-sum,
Colleen Tjosvold,
Amber Tsang Wing-chi,
Agnes Tse Wing-kiu.

Additional reporting and images: HKRU

Rugby Week 2018

After the individual creativity of Art Week, the wonders of team creativity are on display as Rugby Week 2018 scrums down.

The action starts at King’s Park on Wednesday with KowloonFest where the old and venerable rumble around the pitch and have a lot of fun as their brain sees them sprinting to score a fantastic try only to find their legs unable to keep up…

While the 7s is all speed and patterns, perhaps the best rugby of the week is at the Hong Kong Tens. With proper scrums and brutal power forward play the Tens features, especially on Thursday night, perhaps the closest we in Hong Kong can get to seeing modern rugby up close and personal. Select teams packed with talent, new and old, from around the world put a physicality and rawness to images seen on television that really has to be experienced in person.

The wonderful HK Women’s Seven is again a qualifier for the Women’s World Series. If you can’t get a ticket to the Sevens then head to So Kon Po and cheer on Hong Kong.

The Sevens, amidst the partying a rugby tournament takes place. The quality of the other World Series tournaments isn’t as good as in the past – empty stadiums on the World Series attest to that. Yet Hong Kong still sees teams raising their game…

Here are the dates for your diary for what promises to be some fantastic sport and a lot of fun.

Kowloon Fest
When: 4 April, 2018
Where: Kings Park
How much: Free
More info: www.rugbyfest.org

Hong Kong Tens
When: 4-5 April, 2018
Where: Hong Kong Football Club
How much: $125, $100 (advance)
More info: www.hongkongtens.com

Hong Kong Women’s Rugby Sevens
When: 5-6 April, 2018
Where: So Kon Po, Semi-final and Final-HK Stadium
How much: Free
More info: www.facebook.com/hkwr.sevens

Hong Kong 7s
When: 6-8 April, 2018
Where: HK Stadium
How much: $1,950 (sold out)
More info: www.hksevens.com

Mapfre Leads Volvo Fleet Out of Auckland

It was a spectacular start to Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race. The sun was out, the wind near 20 knots as the fleet left Auckland for Brazil in beautiful sailing conditions.

The Kiwi spectator armada consisted of foiling kite-boards, windsurfers, stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, dinghies, as well as hundreds of power and sail boats, along with the former Whitbread Round the World Race winner, Steinlager 2.

It was MAPFRE, the overall race leader, who made the best start to lead the fleet around a loop of the Waitematā Harbour and out into the Hauraki Gulf, with Dongfeng, Team Brunel and Turn the Tide on Plastic in close and giving chase.

Watch a replay of the start here

In a return to the heritage of the event, Leg 7 of the Volvo Ocean Race will take the teams on a 7,600 nautical mile journey into the Southern Ocean, and around the iconic Cape Horn, before returning to the Atlantic Ocean towards the finish in Itajaí, Brazil.

“100% of the sailors that have done this leg have at one moment said it is too hard or too tough,” said Charles Caudrelier, the skipper of Dongfeng Race Team. “But when you pass Cape Horn you have a huge feeling of pride that you have faced your fears.”

“We’re going into one of the more gruelling legs of the race,” added Brunel’s Peter Burling, a hero in New Zealand for bringing the America’s Cup home last summer.

“The biggest challenge is the endurance aspect, having to keep the intensity high through some very difficult conditions… It’s going to be pretty tough for any of us Kiwis to leave here, but we’re all pretty excited to get into it.”

The initial Ice Exclusion Zone will allow the teams to sail as far south as 59-degrees south latitude, well into the ‘Furious Fifties’, where wind and waves circle the planet unimpeded by land, allowing them to build to fearsome levels. It will be very cold that far south, and the routing will take the fleet to the most remote part of the world, Point Nemo, where the international space station is closer than any point of land.

There is a balance to be struck on this leg, between pushing the crew and equipment hard in the quest for victory, and ensuring the team is able to finish the leg at all.

“This is a part of the world where sometimes you have to forget about the race and just take care of the people and the boat,” noted Caudrelier. “It’s a special place, sailing in the South – the sea is bigger, the wind is stronger, so you need to be mindful.”

The teams are getting straight into it – after leaving the final turning mark, the forecast is for an upwind slog into a 30-knot easterly as they aim to clear the Coromandel Peninsula and then the East Cape of New Zealand, before turning south in search of the low pressure systems that will power them towards Cape Horn, some 11 days away.

“It’s going to be upwind and bumpy until East Cape,” said Vestas 11th Hour Racing navigator Simon Fisher. His team is returning to the race after retiring from Leg 4 and missing the leg into Auckland while repairing damage to their hull.

“Going around Cape Horn represents a real milestone in the race. It’s a big thing to get around the Horn and it’s a moment of celebration for everyone on board as it means the end of the Southern Ocean and back to the relative safety of the South Atlantic.

“But by no means is it a moment to relax as some of the biggest challenges of this leg can be found between Cape Horn and the finish in Itajaí.”

The initial ETA for the finish in Itajaí, Brazil is between April 4th and 6th.

Additional reporting and images: Volvo Ocean Race, Ainhoa Sanchez, Jesus Renedo

Kitchee Claim First Ever ACL Win

Kitchee became the first Hong Kong team to win a match in the AFC Champions League when in dramatic fashion with a goal in the 93 minute they beat Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol 1-0 at the Hong Kong Stadium.

Kitchee academy graduate Cheng Chin Lung, an 80th minute substitute, was the hero… Deep in stoppage time the 20 year-old picked up the ball on right side of the penalty area, moved the ball onto his left foot and curled a spectacular shot into the top left hand corner of the net. A goal worthy of an historic achievement.

“I always remember my father’s words: ‘If you do not shoot, you will never score,” said Cheng after the match. “I need to thank him, as he always encourages me to play better and to shoot more.”

Watch the match highlights here

https://youtu.be/zfRrdwyF5X0

HK Women Beat Malaysia in Super Over

At the Asean Women’s T20 Cup in Thailand, Hong Kong faced Malaysia in their fourth match, still looking for their first win after a disappointing start to the tournament.

The pitch had dried considerably and upon winning the toss Captain Mariko Hill chose to bat first. After several disappointing performances with the bat there was considerable pressure on the team to post a respectable score. Coach Richard Waite rejigged the batting order opting to have Mariko Hill and Shanzeen Shahzad open the batting. With the early loss of Shanzeen Shahzad in the second over, it looked as though the players hadn’t learnt from the previous games and were failing to adapt to the pitch and the situation.

Yasmin Daswani though scored an elegant half-century (56 from 57 balls) as she and Hill put on 59 for the second wicket. Wicketkeeper Bella Bo Yee came in at number five and the pair added an unbeaten 60 runs to lift Hong Kong to 119 for 3 after 20 overs.

Malaysia got off to a good start but lost opener Yusrina Yaakop at the end of the second over bowled by the 14-year-old Maryam Bibi for 1. Allison Siu bowled Winifred Duraisngam for 6 with the score on 38 after 7.4 overs. Hong Kong’s bowlers though were spraying the ball all over the place, conceding 20 wides in the innings, and Christina Baret (44 not out) and Elysa Yasmin (33) looked to have combined for a match winning partnership with Malaysia needing just five off the last over.

With two runs Shahzad bowled Yasmin with the second to last ball, leaving Mahirah Izzati to score two off the last ball for victory. A scampered single tied the scores to create the first ‘super over’ of the tournament.

Malaysia batted first in the super over and Hill conceded just 5 runs while taking 2 wickets. With Hill and Shahzad opening Hong Kong needed 6 runs to win the match. If Hong Kong scored only 5 they would still win based on amount of boundaries scored during the innings (10 against 4).

Hill faced the first ball and got a single, Shahzad had a big swing and a miss at the second. On the third Shahzad steered the ball past third man for 4. Needing just 1 to win, Shahzad smashed another four to lift Hong Kong to their first win of the tournament.

Hong Kong face Tanzania in their final game on the 13 March.

Additional reporting and images: HK Cricket, Cricket Thai

Western Force to Play Hong Kong in World Series Rugby

Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest has announced seven invitational matches for axed Super Rugby club Western Force later this year. Grandly titling the games, referencing Kerry Packer, World Series Rugby.

The seven match World Series Rugby will trial some new initiatives including a try being worth 10 points and a fixed time frame for scrums and lineouts. Former Wallabies great Michael Lynagh, who is serving as an adviser, believed an innovative revamp would make the game “faster and more exciting.” Lyangh added “We want to keep the ball in play and really reward the skills.”

The rule changes are designed to make the game more spectator and player friendly and Forrest hopes that WSR will evolve into a fully-fledged international competition for the Asia Pacific region in 2019 and beyond.

The matches, to be played at Perth’s NIB Stadium, will pit the new look Force team against Pacific nations Fiji, Tonga and Samoa plus Hong Kong and Super Rugby outfits the Rebels and Crusaders between May and August. A Japanese team is likely to round out the competition.

The former Tuggeranong Vikings coach Tim Sampson will lead the squad, which contains 11 former Force players and some familiar names in former Springboks centre Jacque Fourie, Peter Grant, Chris Alcock and Rod Davies.

Force squad: AJ Alatimu, Chris Alcock, Marcel Brache, Masivesi Dakuwaqa, Rod Davies, Andrew Deegan, Tevin Ferris, Jaque Fourie, Josh Furno, Peter Grant, Chris Heiberg, Rodney Iona, Feleti Kaitu’u, Brad Lacey, Kieran Longbottom, Ryan Louwrens, Cameron Orr, Harrison Orr, Leon Power, Ian Prior, Harry Scoble, Tom Sheminant, Brynard Stander, Elliot Turner, Clay Uyen, Fergus Lee-Warner

WSR invitational matches in 2018
May 4 v Fiji
May 13 v Tonga
June 9 v Rebels
June 22 v Crusaders
July 13 v Samoa
Aug 10 v Hong Kong
Aug 17 TBA

Hong Kong Beat Afghanistan at ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiers

Hong Kong resurrected their ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier campaign with an historic triumph over Afghanistan in Bulawayo. The 30-run win was the first ever victory for Hong Kong over a Test playing nation in the One Day International format.

Results in other matches now mean Hong Kong can guarantee a passage through to the Super Six stage with one win in their remaining two matches against Zimbabwe and then Nepal.

After being dismissed for just 91 against Scotland in their opening encounter, Hong Kong’s batsmen produced a much improved performance against an Afghanistan team containing the world’s top ranked bowler, Rashid Khan.

Cameos from Nizakat Khan (28) and Babar Hayat (31) got Hong Kong’s innings going but the starts meant the innings threatened to lack substance at one stage 4-93 in the 24th over.

But 20-year-old Anshuman Rath showed great determination to hold the innings together as he compiled 65 off 90 balls from number five in the order. That allowed the lower order to chip in around him but it was the final overs assault from Tanwir Afzal (22 off 9 balls) who lifted the Hong Kong target to a more imposing mark of 241-8.

In reply it was Tanwir (1-37) who gave Hong Kong the early breakthrough but at 56-1 Afghanistan were trundling along steadily in pursuit of 242 when Ehsan was brought on from the clubhouse end in the 16th over. With loop and flight, he tempted Rahmat Shah into an expansive drive. With dip and turn, he spun the ball sharply in between bat and pad to disturb the stumps. With that, Afghanistan were 56 for 2, and Hong Kong had their opening. Before his first over was up, Ehsan had also dismissed the set Ihsanullah for 20, a gloved sweep landing in the hands of Rath, tumbling to his left at slip.

The pressure built up by the bowlers brought desperate strokes and with the required rate closing in on six an over, Samiullah Shenwari bent low to sweep Ehsan but missed the ball entirely to be bowled for 9, as Afghanistan slipped to 73 for 4.

From there Hong Kong continued to keep the scoreboard pressure on and the climbing rate brought more wickets when rain intervened at 7-167. Play did resume but Afghanistan only had 18 balls to chase a revised target 226.

Eshan later picked up a fourth wicket as Afghanistan were held to 195-9 and for his career best figures of 4 for 33, Ehsan was named Man of the Match.

Hong Kong coach Simon Cook said “We sat down after the Scotland game an had an honest chat and the players got together as a group and talked about what they needed to do to beat Afghanistan. Each individual identified how they were going to play and what impact they wanted to have and executed that in training yesterday. The pitch spun a lot and so it’s a credit to how our guys nullified their spin options. We trained with purpose and got results.”

“240 was about par, however the pitch – spun quickly and a lot so it was a challenge for anyone going out there. We learnt from the experience of playing Rashid in Hong Kong in November and it was hugely pleasing to see the improvement.” Cook continued “We had a World T20 victory against Bangladesh which stands out as our biggest – today was great but it is only one game in a tournament that means so much so we will enjoy it tonight and then refocus quickly for Zimbabwe.”

Additional reporting and images: HK Cricket

team AkzoNobel Win Epic Volvo Ocean Race Duel

An epic Leg 6 of the Volvo Ocean Race saw the teams pushed to extremes: from the wet and wild upwind conditions of the start through the stifling heat and calms of the doldrums, leading to an incredibly close finish in Auckland, New Zealand.

The City of Sails has played host to many historically close finishes and this year’s will only add to the legend. With only miles to go the finish line, positions changed as the pressure ratcheted up. Five boats within sight of each other, charging towards the finish line under a bright moon.

After 21 days at sea, as exhaustion set in, team AkzoNobel were able to fend off the challenge from Scallywag to earn their first leg win by less than two minutes with MAPFRE completing the podium. Dongfeng Race Team and Turn the Tide on Plastic finished just minutes later, with Team Brunel completing the arrivals finishing in sixth place 1h 29min 11s after the leader.

It was a tremendous win, and came after an amazing final 24 hours, when a ridge of high pressure off the north east coast of New Zealand stalled the progress of the leading boats, allowing those over 100 miles behind to close what had appeared to be an insurmountable gap.

For team AkzoNobel and Scallywag, the buffer they’d built up over the past week was only just sufficient, and they were able to match race down the coast all the way to the finish line in the Waitematā Harbour, usually sailing within hailing distance of each other.

In the end, the margin at the finish was just two minutes between first and second place.

“It’s been a 6,500 mile match race, it’s unreal,” said Simon Tienpont of AkzoNobel’s first leg win. “I’ve never sailed a race like this in my life. We’ve always been in each other’s sights. They were always there. It’s been neck and neck. Huge respect to Scallywag, they never stopped fighting and we never stopped defending. I’m so proud of our crew. They never flinched.”

“Our team never gives up,” said Scallywag skipper David Witt. “We just didn’t pull it off this time. We had our chances, but AkzoNobel were just a little bit too good this time. But we’ve come a long way since leg one.”

The second place finish in Leg 6, combined with a leg win into their home port of Hong Kong, has elevated Scallywag up to third place on the overall leaderboard.

While the weather pattern of the last 24 hours has made for a heart-stopping finish for race fans, it also led to a heart-breaking result for Dee Caffari’s Turn the Tide on Plastic.

Just 24 hours ago, Caffari and her team appeared poised to claim their first podium of the race, even while challenging for the leg win. MAPFRE and Dongfeng Race Team, first and second on the overall leaderboard, were over 60 miles behind Caffari.

It would have made for a well-earned and popular result for an underdog team. But as the leading trio bumped up against an unavoidable patch of calm winds, MAPFRE and Dongfeng roared in, closing the gap down minute by minute.

As darkness fell on Tuesday night and the wind picked up for the final 60-mile sprint to the finish, the two powerhouse red boats were within striking distance of Caffari and her team, just 2 miles back. And over the next 90 minutes, they were able to grind their way past, pushing Turn the Tide on Plastic back into fifth place with 20 miles to run.

While Caffari and her crew showed incredible fighting spirit, clawing ahead of Dongfeng Race Team once again as the boats raced through the Hauraki Gulf on the final approach, they couldn’t hold on, and would need to settle for fifth place, behind both MAPFRE in third and Dongfeng in fourth.

“It’s been a crazy 20 or 21 days, match racing all the way here,” said MAPFRE skipper Xabi Fernández. “We’ve been fighting with Dongfeng like crazy. We never stopped, we fought so hard, and now we feel very happy of course. We were hoping for opportiunites in the doldrums and they never came, but finally they came today, and we did it.”

“We’re sorry for Turn the Tide on Plastic,” said Dongfeng skipper Charles Caudrelier. “They did a fantastic race and I think they deserved a third place finish, but that’s sailing, they’ve been unlucky today and we managed to come back… It was a good surprise.”

Overlooking the immediate disappointment of the day, this marks the best result of the race to date for Turn the Tide on Plastic and is a sign of progress for a young and improving team.

“We’re gutted, I don’t even know what to say,” said an obviously disappointed Caffari dockside. “We had a good race, and we thought we were going to have a better result. But those pesky red boats always seem to get it their way.”

Team Brunel finished 90 minutes behind their fellow competitors after a bold tactical choice over the weekend backfired and put them behind the rest of the fleet.

Vestas 11th Hour Race did not sail in Leg 6 after being shipped to Auckland for repairs. The team has lost ground on the leaderboard, with both Scallywag and AkzoNobel overhauling them to hold down third and fourth place, with Vestas 11th Hour Racing sliding to fifth. The team is expected to release an update over the coming days.

1
AKZO Elapsed time: 20d 09:17:26
2
SHKS Elapsed time: 20d 09:19:40
3
MAPF Elapsed time: 20d 09:39:38
4
DFRT Elapsed time: 20d 09:42:36
5
TTOP Elapsed time: 20d 09:45:08
6
TBRU Elapsed time: 20d 11:14:19
7
VS11 DNS
Volvo Ocean Race Leaderboard

MAPFRE – 39 points
Dongfeng Race Team – 34 points
Scallywag – 34 points
team AkzoNobel – 23 points
Vestas 11th Hour Racing – 23 points
Team Brunel – 20 points
Turn the Tide on Plastic – 12 points

Additional reporting and images: Volvo Ocean Race,  Ainhoa Sanchez, Jesus Renedo, James Blake,