Hong Kong Sends Largest-Ever Delegation to National Games, Boosts Medal Incentives

Hong Kong is set to send its largest delegation ever to compete in the upcoming National Games, with a significant increase in cash incentives for medal-winning athletes. The incentive for individual gold medalists has been raised by 50 percent, meaning athletes who secure a gold medal in an individual event will receive HK$750,000.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) delegation held its flag presentation ceremony on Wednesday at the Kowloon Park Sports Centre. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu officiated the ceremony and presented the regional flag to Rosanna Law Shuk-pui, the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, who will also serve as the head of the delegation.

In a social media post, Chief Executive Lee expressed his hope that the athletes will perform at their best in every competition and achieve outstanding results.

Secretary Law, speaking at the ceremony, conveyed that the entire city would be supporting the athletes. She voiced her confidence that they would surpass their limits, achieve breakthroughs, and bring pride to Hong Kong.

She highlighted the record-breaking size of this year's delegation, comprising over 600 athletes and approximately 270 accompanying staff and medical personnel, who will compete across 28 different sports.

When including participants and staff involved in the 23 mass participation events, the total delegation size will exceed 1,800 people.

Secretary Law emphasized the significance of this year's National Games, which will be co-hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau for the first time, as a milestone in strengthening cooperation and integration within the Greater Bay Area. She also expressed gratitude to the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) for its support in preparing for the Hong Kong events. Furthermore, she announced that the HKJC has increased the budget for its Athlete Incentive Awards Scheme by 50 percent.

Under the revised scheme, individual gold medalists will be awarded HK$750,000, while teams winning gold will receive HK$1.5 million. Silver medalists will receive HK$375,000 for individuals and HK$750,000 for teams, and bronze medalists will receive HK$150,000 and HK$300,000, respectively.

The HKJC has allocated over HK$500 million to support both the Hong Kong and Guangdong events of the Games.