“BISFed 2017 Asia and Oceania Championships – Hong Kong”, organised by the Hong Kong Paralympic Committee & Sports Association for the Physically Disabled (HKPC&SAPD) will be held from 24 – 28 May at Ma On Shan Sports Centre. A press conference was hosted today (19 May) to announce the Championships details and invite the public to join.
Officiating guests included Mr. David Hadfield, President of Boccia International Sports Federation, Miss Petty Lai, Principal Assistant Secretary for Home Affairs (Recreation and Sport) of Home Affairs Bureau, Mr. Kelvin Leung, Chief Leisure Manager (Sports Funding) of Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Dr. Trisha Leahy, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Sports Institute, Dr. James Lam, Chairman of HKPC&SAPD, Mr. Lincoln Yu, Chairman of “BISFed 2017 Asia and Oceania Championships – Hong Kong” Organising Committee, Mr. Leung Yuk Wing, Boccia Athlete and Mr. Kwok Hart Wing, Boccia Head Coach.
Dr. James Lam, Chairman of HKPC&SAPD said, “Boccia is one of the Paralympic Games focused programmes of HKPC&SAPD. Hong Kong Team has continued to shine and win acclaim in the competition arena in recent years. In 2014, they captured two gold, one silver and two bronze medals at the Asian Para Games and two gold medals at the World Championships, and then one gold medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. 10 athletes of the Team will compete at the upcoming Championships with home-field advantage and strive for excellence.” In addition, Dr. Lam also expressed deep gratitude on behalf of HKPC&SAPD for the generous support from the related Government departments and supporting organisations, which enable local and overseas athletes to have a high-level competition platform.
(From left of front row) Mr. Kelvin Leung, Chief Leisure Manager (Sports Funding) of Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Mr. Lee Wing Kit, Boccia Coach, Ms. Ho Yuen Kei, Boccia Athlete, Mr. David Hadfield, President of Boccia International Sports Federation, Mr. Lincoln Yu, Chairman of “BISFed 2017 Asia and Oceania Championships – Hong Kong” Organizing Committee, Mr. Leung Yuk Wing, Boccia Athlete and Dr. Trisha Leahy, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Sports Institute participated in the Boccia trial.
More than 160 top athletes, coaches and team officials from 11 countries and territories will participate in the Championships. The medalists of each event will earn a direct slot to the 2018 World Championships to be held in Liverpool, UK. Mr. Martin Lam, Vice-chairman of the Championships Organising Committee remarked that strong teams such as China, Japan, Korea and Thailand will soon gather at the competition. Watcharaphon Vongsa (Thailand) and Yoo Won Jong (Korea), medal winners of Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and Kim Han Soo (Korea) and Zheng Yuan Sen (China), who rank third in the world will also join the upcoming competitions. Mr. Lam believed that the Championships will be very fascinating and exciting.
The public are welcome to watch the competition at Ma On Shan Sports Centre. Latest news, competition results and live streaming will be available in event website: hk2017boccia.hkparalympic.org.
For any enquiries about the Championships, please contact Ms. Lilian Ip (Programme Officers – PR & Marketing) at 2602 8232.
