National Alpine Skiing Centre in Yanqing, Beijing Photo: VCG

As the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is sending its largest-ever athlete delegation to the Winter Olympics, which is composed of two alpine skiers and one short-track speed skater, Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, vice president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, told the Global Times in an exclusive interview on Friday that their participation in the Winter Olympics is expected to inspire enthusiasm of Hong Kong youth for ice sports and provide opportunities for exchanges with national team athletes.

Hong Kong will send alpine skiers Audrey King and Adrian Yung Hau-tsuen to compete in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, which is also the first time in history that Hong Kong has sent two alpine skiers to Winter Olympic Games. 

Yung will be the first men's alpine skier to represent HKSAR in Winter Olympic Games. It is the first time for King to participate in Winter Olympics, according to media reports. 

Both of them greeted a press conference held by the Ski Association of Hong Kong on Thursday from a training camp in Bosnia, and King said she is proud to represent Hong Kong to the Games, according to the reports. Both of them are expected to depart from Europe to Beijing on January 30 and train with the Chinese national delegation, Hong Kong media Ming Pao reported. 

"We are so proud of them, as there are not many athletes trained in Hong Kong to reach the standards of the Olympics, especially in alpine skiing, as we don't have snow-covered mountains in Hong Kong. So those two athletes have to train overseas, unable to spend time with their families and friends," Fok told the Global Times on Friday. 

King, a 19-year-old born in Hong Kong, started to train in Europe last June after she graduated from high school, and she qualified in Montenegro last month for the Beijing Winter Olympics, Ming Po reported.

"I hope their participation in the Winter Olympics in Beijing will inspire more young people in Hong Kong to focus on winter sports and inspire more to take part in it," Fok said. 

Fok, husband of four-time Olympic gold medalist Guo Jingjing, shared his excitement for the upcoming Games, and said he hopes that sports will also serve as a bridge for helping Hong Kong youth get to know more about the mainland, especially the mainland's sports development. 

He said he still remembers the day when Cheung Ka-long won gold medal for Men's Foil Individual competition in Tokyo 2020 last summer. Hong Kong residents gathered at shopping malls and cheered for him and Hong Kong table tennis player Doo Hoi Kem in front of giant screens.

"This is also an opportunity for us to hold more activities and exchange programs, helping the Greater Bay Area work together in paving the way for the 15th National Games in 2025," Fok said. 

It's also an opportunity to put aside political agendas and bring young people together in sports exchanges, which will also help them know our country on the basis of mutual respect, he added.