Hong Kong, China Delegation makes history with distinguished results at Tokyo Olympics (with photos)
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With the closing of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games today (August 8), the Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, concluded the performance of the Hong Kong, China Delegation. She expressed her utmost admiration for the athletes’ best results in Hong Kong history and her gratitude for the staunch support of various sectors to the athletes.
“The Hong Kong athletes have displayed the extraordinary capability of Hong Kong at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, capturing a gold medal, two silver medals and three bronze medals in five sports and achieving the city’s best results in history. We are moved by the courage and perseverance of all the athletes in competitions, with a number of them breaking Hong Kong records or their own records. Hong Kong athletes’ performances have made Hong Kong people feel proud. I extend my sincere congratulations to them.
“The success of the Hong Kong athletes at this Olympic Games did not come about by chance. In addition to their tireless efforts, it was also down to the support of the coaches and support teams, the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI), the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China and the national sports associations. The encouragement and the trust of the family members of the athletes was the key to success. I also thank the commercial sector for its award schemes, especially the Henderson Land Commendation Scheme for Elite Athletes sponsored by Henderson Land Group, to encourage athletes to achieve distinguished results, as well as the help by local universities and research and development teams to leverage scientific research achievements to enhance the performance of athletes.
“People’s enthusiasm is very important to athletes. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government secured the broadcasting rights to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games and allowed the five TV license holders to broadcast for free. Over the past 10 days or so, people cheered for athletes no matter whether they were at home, at work, in the malls or even on the streets, giving athletes spiritual support,” Mrs Lam said.
Mrs Lam said that the HKSAR Government has been proactively allocating resources to develop elite sports in the past decade. Its initiatives include reconstructing the HKSI and building the Hong Kong Velodrome to ensure the provision of the best training facilities for athletes; setting up the Elite Athletes Development Fund to secure sufficient financial resources for the HKSI to meet the needs of athletes in various aspects and enhance the remuneration of elite athletes; providing scholarships and learning support for elite athletes’ dual career development in sports and academics; and improving retirement arrangements for athletes including retirement cash incentives and comprehensive employment support. In the year of 2021/22, the Government’s annual funding for the HKSI, through the Elite Athletes Development Fund, amounted to $737 million, representing an increase of about 42 per cent over the year of 2017/18. Amid the epidemic, the Government has been in close communication with the HKSI and relevant national sports associations to take appropriate anti-epidemic measures to protect athletes’ well-being and flexibly adjust the plans of training and competitions, enabling the continuation of elite sports training for athletes.
During the visit to the HKSI to watch Hong Kong athletes’ performances at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games today, Mrs Lam also inspected the facilities of the institute and the site where a new facilities building is planned to be built.
“I hope that the good performance of athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will inject new impetus to Hong Kong’s sports development, encouraging more enterprises and members of the public to support Hong Kong athletes and motivating more people to do exercise. The HKSAR Government will continue to support sports development in Hong Kong in terms of policy, facilities and resources.
“There will be a number of important sports events taking place shortly, including the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games to be held later this month and the National Games to be held in Shaanxi Province next month. I call on various sectors to continue to support Hong Kong athletes to bring glory home in the competitions,” Mrs Lam said.