- With Shek Wai-hung having qualified in the vault, Ng is eager to join his long-time buddy in the Tokyo Games
- Ng’s promising career has been hampered by injury and his only path to the Olympics is through the World Cup series
Ng Kiu-chung has always been a fighter. Once Hong Kong's most promising gymnast after winning a World Cup series medal in 2010, a string of injuries has hampered his career.
While the "lord of the rings" faced a continuous battle to maintain fitness, he watched his long-time friend and fellow Hong Kong gymnast Shek Wai-hung become Asia's leading vault specialist, winning two Asian Games golds and competing in the 2012 London Olympics.
The 28-year-old Ng is happy to see Shek succeed but now he wants a taste of Olympic competition himself. With the 2020 Tokyo Games less than a year away, Ng knows this is his last chance.
His only path to the Olympics is through the World Cup series, where only one place is up for grabs in each of the disciplines. He also knows he may fail but what he does not want is to feel is regret.
"This is probably more difficult than booking the ticket through the recent World Championships," said Ng, the first Hong Kong gymnast to win a World Cup series medal when he took bronze in the men's rings in Doha in 2010. "I am now approaching the final stage of my career and do not want to have any regret before I call it a day in my beloved sport after so many years.
"In fact, if I don't fight for it, I am sure if I won't have another chance to pursue my Olympic dream, the biggest of all for any athlete."
Ng's Doha exploits marked him down as Hong Kong's future star but he suffered three major injury setbacks " to his shoulder and right foot " that curtailed his progress.
He and Shek were in the same Hong Kong youth squad at the age of 12. Shek, one month younger, last week made it to the world championships vault final in Stuttgart, sealing his place in Tokyo for his second Olympic appearance.
Ng finished in joint 18th place in the men's rings in Stuttgart, having only recently recovered from foot injury that needed meniscus surgery in March.
"It's not a bad result out of 200 competitors and I must thank my previous experience of getting through the rehabilitation period. That's why I can get back so quickly this time," said Ng, who was greeted by his girlfriend upon his return from Stuttgart . "The injury did not come at the right time.
"It was the third time that I needed surgery " the first time came in 2014 because of cartilage fatigue in my shoulder after the Incheon Asian Games, while in 2016, I tore the anterior cruciate ligament, also on my right foot which kept me out of competition for almost a year, followed by the meniscus injury.
"But there is no excuse. Now I must lift my form as quickly as I can after the World Championships and give my best effort in the coming few months, pushing my muscles to the limit so that I can reach the top of the World Cup rankings for the Olympic berth."
HK's Lord of the Rings, gymnast Kelvin Ng Kiu-chung, is back and stronger than ever
Eight rounds of World Cup series events, starting from late 2018, count towards 2020 Olympic qualification. Four rounds remain and with many of the top gymnasts having qualified through two world championships, Ng is still in with a chance, according to his coach Sergiy Agafontsev.
"He scored 14.1 in Stuttgart while the top finisher was on 14.8. There is only a small gap," said Agafontsev, who has been overseeing the men's team for more than a decade after arriving in Hong Kong from Ukraine. "Ng did a great job at the World Championships considering his injury in March and now he has to focus on the World Cup series.
"He will take part in all four remaining rounds until March with the best three results counting towards Olympic qualification. But it will not be easy for all the competitors because there is only one spot available in each apparatus through this route. We hope the more often the judges see him, the better impression he can leave with them to gain a higher score."
Ng recalls the time he and Shek first trained together with the youth team, when thoughts of competing on the world stage never crossed their minds. They just wanted to play gymnastics. Now with Shek having bagged two Asian Games gold medals and making his second Olympic appearance, Ng is eager to join his buddy for the Tokyo Games.
"We have been through to a lot, many memories in gymnastics over these years and I am so happy with the achievements of Shek," said Ng, who finished fourth in the rings at the 2018 Asian Games. "We had the chance of making the podium at the last Asian Games in Jakarta but he ended with a back-to-back gold medal while I narrowly missed out.
"I haven't decided if I would continue after the Tokyo Olympics and it may be one of the last few chances we can see each other at a major games."
The remaining four World Cup series will take place in Cottbus, Germany (November), Melbourne (February 2020), Baku, Azerbaijan (March) and Doha (March).
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