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nese, Nepails, Pakistan and many in the city 90 years ago.
As his parents are Pakistani, Ali others. People may not understand
has been holding the Pakistani the importance of hockey to Hong The Hong Kong men’s national
passport only. “They don’t require Kong,” he says. hockey team participated in the
me to have a Hong Kong passport Tokyo Olympics in 1964. It was
the first and only time for them to
participate in the Olympic games,
the website states.

According to an interview with
Sarinder Dillon by The Olympi-
ans in 2017, at that time the Hong
Kong team also featured players
from diverse ethnic backgrounds,
including those from England, In-
dia and Pakistan.

“Indeed, both men’s and women’s
teams have shown a decline in per-
formance after the policy change.
We have much fewer options. Hav-
ing a completely Chinese squad is
not a huge problem. The only thing
we can do now is to cultivate more
Ivy Nina Pieter playing in a high-level hockey game (Photo courtesy young, local, talented players. But
of Ivy Nina Pieter) the process takes time,” the coach
says.

at that time as long as I am a per- Hockey was first introduced to Oson Lam Ngo-sing, is a lo-
manent resident,” Ali says. Hong Kong by British troops sta-
tioned in India. According to their cal hockey player who joined the
Ali says players hesitate to apply website, Hockey Hong Kong, Chi- Hong Kong junior squad eight
for the HKSAR passport, as that na (HockeyHK), an association months ago. He also realises the
lack of ethnic minority players in
will affect their assets held back in dedicated to the sport, was found- the current team.
their home country. ed in 1933. It is also documented
that there were over 2,500 players
“They may need to give up their
household registration from their
hometown, which means they may
also need to give up all their assets
there,” he says.

“The Hong Kong team always re-
lies on players from different eth-
nic backgrounds. So the policy
change affects Hong Kong more
than any other teams,” he adds.

The 44-year-old coach witnessed
the change in the spectrum of eth-
nic disparities. “There were Chi- Arif Ali playing for the Hong Kong team (Photo courtesy of Arif Ali)