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Hong Kong at the Asia Cup 2016

HK Cricket team 2016

The Asian Cricket Council is holding the Asia Cup 2016 in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 24th February to 6th March 2016. The 13th edition of the Asia Cup will be the first played using the T20 format.

Hong Kong made their first appearance in the tournament in 2004 and reached the group stages in the 2004 and 2008 tournaments.

Along with hosts Bangladesh and Asia Cup 2014 winners Sri Lanka, the tournament will include Pakistan, India and a qualifier. The qualifier will be determined through a qualifying round (T20I) scheduled to be played from 19th to 22nd February 2016 in Bangladesh.

Afghanistan, Hong Kong, Oman and UAE will compete in the qualifying round. The winner of qualifier will move to main round to play against the four Asian Test playing nations.

Qualifier Match Schedule
Venue: KSOAS, Fatullah
Format: 20 overs a side

Hong Kong v Oman
Date: 19 February 2016
HK Time: 8pm

Hong Kong v UAE
Date: 21 February 2016
HK Time: 8pm

Hong Kong v Afghanistan
Date: 22 February 2016
HK Time: 8pm

Hong Kong Squad
Tanwir Afzal (Captain), Adil Mehmood, Aizaz Khan, Anshuman Rath, Babar Hayat, Christopher Carter, Haseeb Amjad, Kinchit Shah, Mark Chapman, Nadeem Ahmed, Ninad Shah, Nizakat Khan, Tanveer Ahmed, Waqas Barkat, Waqas Khan.

Hong Kong Women’s Seven Tough Day in Tokyo

The Hong Kong Women’s Seven had a tough day in Tokyo, losing crucial matches to Japan (5-27) and Kazakhstan (5-29) in the first day of the final stage of the Asia Rugby Olympic qualifiers. The competition’s format, which has all six participating teams in a single pool, sees day two’s finals placings determined directly by pool results.

Japan and Kazakhstan, the winners and runners-up in the opening leg of the Olympic qualifier held in Hong Kong, emerged undefeated from day one. Those results will likely put the finals beyond reach for Hong Kong, barring an upset in the final pool round tomorrow when Japan and Kazakhstan play the fifth and sixth seeds Guam and Sri Lanka respectively, before playing each other in the last pool match ahead of the finals.

On present form, that match could preview the final, which Kazakhstan would need to win to keep their hopes of a direct Olympic berth alive.

China also struggled on day one, dropping its opening match to Japan 7-20 before losing to Kazakhstan 14-0, further damping Hong Kong’s hopes as China were the only other side outside of the leaders capable of shaking up the standings.

Slow starts were the problem for Hong Kong. That trend started in the opening match when Guam dominated possession and territory against the third seeds overall for nearly the entire first half. Late first half tries from captain Christy Cheng Ka Chi and vice captain Natasha Olson-Thorne righted the ship and set the platform for the final half when Aggie Poon Pak Yan, Stephanie Cuvelier, Amelie Seure and Chong Ka Yan all scored. Poon added three conversions with Lai Pou Fan adding one.

Another slow start proved lethal against Kazakhstan who mounted their finest performance of the season with a 29-5 win. With size and pace across the side, Kazakhstan put on a display, suffocating Hong Kong of any possession and scoring three tries before the break to take a 19-0 lead.

Kazakhstan maintained the pressure in the second half, scoring twice after the break, but most of their work came in defence of the lead, with Hong Kong having the lion’s share of possession. Late in the match Hong Kong began to string together consistent and structured phase play that rattled the Kazakh defence. Hong Kong scored a consolation try at the hooter with Amelie Seure finishing off a good period of offensive pressure with her second try of the day.

Hong Kong dropped its final match of the day to Japan but played its best rugby. After going down 5-0 early on, Aggie Poon Pak Yan leveled the scores after capitalizing on broken play to score in the corner. Japan’s second try came from a well-worked move at the base of a scrum that outfoxed the Hong Kong defence putting Mifuyu Koide over untouched. Hong Kong conceded a third try late in the half after having a player down with injury for the last minute leaving them outnumbered.

The Sakura Sevens were superb in defence in the second half keeping Hong Kong off the board while adding two more tries to win convincingly.

Hong Kong will play China and Sri Lanka in the final pool rounds tomorrow.

Hong Kong Women Aim for Olympic Qualification in Tokyo

The Hong Kong Women’s Sevens squad departed today for Tokyo, Japan where they will play in this weekend’s second leg of Asia Rugby’s Olympic qualification tournament. At the end of which one women’s team from Asia will automatically qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro after the completion of the tournament on 29 November.

After winning this year’s opening Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Series tournament in Qingdao China, what once looked like a goal for 2020 is now a real – albeit slim – possibility for the 2016 after Hong Kong finished third in the opening leg of the two-stage qualifier at the Hong Kong Stadium on 7-8 November.

The women’s seven finished that tournament with a four win and two loss record – with losses coming against the eventual finalists Japan and Kazakhstan – but dispatched pre-tournament favourites China twice, including a 12-7 win in the third place play-off.

The result leaves Hong Kong needing an outright win in Tokyo, but also dependent upon the two finalists from the first leg not reaching this weekend’s cup match.Should either opponent reach the final in Tokyo they will have done enough to book their ticket to Rio on overall points across the series.

If Hong Kong win in Tokyo and Japan and Kazakhstan fail to reach the final, tie-breakers will come into effect. First up will be the head-to-head results between the two tied teams across the two Olympic qualifier events. If three teams are tied at the end of play on Sunday, point differentials across the series will be the deciding factor.

Hong Kong must win and win well this weekend. The hometown heroes have the advantage of heading to Japan with an unchanged side including flying winner Aggie Poon Pak Yan, who has been the revelation of the series.

Poon again proved that she is the deadliest finisher in Asian women’s rugby, leading all players with eight tries in Hong Kong earlier this month. Those totals bring her remarkable season tally to 25 tries and 24 conversions over the qualifier and two Asian sevens events so far in 2015, for a combined 173 points.

Hong Kong will need Poon to be on song once again as the team looks to make an all-out push for a historic Olympic berth. Squad veterans in captain Christy Cheng Ka Chi, vice captain Natasha Olson-Thorne and Candy Cheng Tsz Ting will also need to peak at the opportune moment to give Hong Kong any chance of success.

The Tokyo qualifier will again see six teams competing in a single pool, round-robin competition. Hong Kong will face Japan, Kazakhstan, China, Sri Lanka and Guam. Hong Kong will open in Tokyo against Guam, whom they blanked 29-0 earlier this month but it is the last two matches on day one that will determine Hong Kong’s chances as they face Kazakhstan and Japan in the closing ties on Saturday. Both sides beat Hong Kong in the first qualifier, with Japan handing the hosts a 36-0 whitewash to end day one at the HK Stadium – that match coming on the heels of Hong Kong’s highly physical 5-0 victory over China.

Coach Anna Richards commented on the squad’s performance from the opening leg, saying, “We were up-and-down unfortunately, but we still have a mathematical chance. It will be a tough one and we must now win it all this weekend.”

In Tokyo, Hong Kong will need to take matters into their own hands and hand Japan and Kazakhstan early losses to prevent them from reaching the final. Hong Kong’s opening pool match on day two is against China in a potential trap game after Hong Kong gained the upper hand on China in recent tournaments.

China, perhaps the most disappointing performer after many expected them to be Asia’s representatives in Rio, will kick off the second leg against Japan in the first match in Tokyo, a tie that could help upset the formbook and set the stage for a weekend of hoped for surprises.
After looking imperious in the opening leg, Japan will enter the tournament as the heavy favourites particularly as they enjoy a rare opportunity to play in front of their home fans. Japan’s women’s sevens have never played an Asia Rugby tournament at home.

Led by the inspirational Chiharu Nakamura, Japan will be intent on joining their men’s counterparts, who secured the Olympic berth earlier this month after coming back from a 10-point first half deficit to beat Hong Kong 24-10 in the final, next year in Rio.

Hong Kong Squad for Olympic Qualifier – Japan Leg
Cheng Ka Chi Christy (Captain), Natasha Olson-Thorne (vice Captain), Amelie Seure, Cheng Tsz Ting, Chong Ka Yan, Kwong Sau Yan, Lai Pou Fan, Lindsay Varty, Nam Ka Man, Poon Pak Yan Aggie, Sham Wai Sum, Stephanie Cuvelier.