Hong Kong’s year in sports: Olympic success and readying Kai Tak complex

Hong Kong athletes pulled off a stellar performance in 2024 with their biggest Olympic gold medal haul yet, analysts have said as they highlight the smooth opening of the Kai Tak Sports Park as the top priority for the sector in the coming year.

But some misses, such as Lionel Messi’s failure to play at an exhibition game in February, prompted several observers to urge authorities to step up efforts in scrutinising funding requests from event organisers.

“In terms of elite sports, I think this year was a bumper harvest – we have very good results in the Olympics and the Paralympics games,” said Lobo Louie Hung-tak, associate head of the Education University of Hong Kong’s health and physical education department.

Hong Kong athletes delivered the city’s best sporting performances in recent years, with foilist Cheung Ka-long and epeeist Vivian Kong Man-wai each winning gold in the Paris Olympics, while swimmer Siobhan Haughey came away with two bronze medals.

The city’s Paralympic athletes also came home with the best results since the 2012 London Games with a total of eight medals including three gold.

Lawmaker Vincent Cheng Wing-shun highlighted that athletes in sports that were not supported by the government’s elite sports programme, such as basketball and football, had also achieved good results.