Paris Olympics: Hong Kong to stage 3x3 basketball qualifying tournament after organisers U-turn
The three-a-side version of the sport has not proved as popular as hoped in the city, with previous tournaments at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay sparsely attended on occasion.
Then there is the reported cost, with officials quoting US$2.55 million (HK$20 million), although a source said Hong Kong had secured the rights to host the first of three qualifying events for the Paris Olympics at a “discounted” price.
“It was at least US$1million for the license fee [from Fiba] alone, excluding any other cost,” the source said.
Fiba had initially planned to stage April’s tournament in Israel, but the country’s invasion of Gaza has made that “impossible”, according to the source.
A second qualifier will be held in Utsunomiya, Japan from May 3 to 5, while the final qualifier, which runs from May 23 to 26, will be hosted in Debrecen, Hungary.
April’s tournament will feature eight men’s teams and eight women’s teams competing over two days, with only the winners in each category qualifying for the Olympics.
As the hosts, Hong Kong can enter a team in each category, but have little to no chance of progressing any further given the level of competition.
Latvia, who won the men’s gold medal in Tokyo, and the Netherlands, who finished fifth among eight teams, are among those expected to take part. Mongolia, ranked second in Asia, together with Austria, Switzerland, Egypt and New Zealand completed the list.
In the women’s event, Mongolia, who finished last in Tokyo, headline a list that also includes Hungary, the Netherlands, Azerbaijan, Poland, Egypt and Chile.
The same rules apply for the second tournament in Japan while three more spots are up for grabs in Hungary, where 16 teams will be in action.
Altogether 16 teams will battle it out for gold at Place de la Concorde from July 30 to August 5. China and the United States have already secured a spot for both their men’s and women’s teams, while Serbia’s men and France’s women have also qualified.
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