A spokeswoman for the Stanley Dragon Boat Association said the cup was a watered-down event with 45 teams, including corporate members and university students. Other participants hail from various countries, such as Austria, Britain, the United States and France. Covid-19 measures will be in place, and the event will not be opened to members of the public.

For Leong and other Malaysians, joining the dragon boat team has been about meeting and connecting with compatriots from their community in the city, with many unable to return home to see their loved ones due to strict quarantine restrictions in Malaysia and Hong Kong. The country’s consulate said there were about 20,000 Malaysians in Hong Kong.

Leong returned to the city last year for his final year at university and has not been home to see his parents and younger brother in Ipoh, Perak, in eight months.

“We speak with a certain slang. It is nice to speak like that with them. It gives me a sense of home,” he said of his dragon boat teammates.

Leong’s position on the boat is in the second-last row, meaning he functions as the “engine” for the team. The football player with a sports scholarship at City University said he was confident he would be able to keep up.

It was not a smooth transition for Leong between the two sports, however. “I thought it would be a breeze for me, but I got that very wrong,” he said with a laugh. “I never used those muscles playing football.”

Angie Fuhrich, 35, who owns her own Malaysian food-catering business, is also in the same role on the team. She has never tried dragon boat racing before.

“I thought it must be challenging, because you have to match everyone’s strength. We have a mixed team so everyone has to be on the same level,” said Fuhrich, who last went back to Kuala Lumpur to visit her younger sister and parents more than two years ago.

The Malaysians have fielded two teams totalling 40 people, aged 20 to above 60. Kenneth Foo, 58, one of three captains, said the teams comprised a mix of individuals from all walks of life, including students, housewives and retirees.

“The majority of us here have not been able to go home ... It’s a chance for us Malaysians who miss the food and family to get together to bond,” he said.

Diversity and inclusion as crews battle it out in Hong Kong’s dragon boat races

Foo, the oldest pacer on the team, and who previously competed in dragon boat racing in Singapore, was surprised that few people had dropped out, despite training in the hot sun every weekend.

“It is not [just] about strength, but about coordination and teamwork. Getting people to gel ... to help each other out. That is what dragon boat is about,” he said.

The annual Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth month in the lunar calendar. Many Chinese also mark the occasion by eating rice dumplings and paying tribute to the ancient poet Qu Yuan from China’s Warring States period (475-221BC).

Legend has it that Qu, banished and disillusioned with the state of his government, threw himself into a river. To ward off fish from devouring his body, villagers took to their boats, creating splashes with their paddles, beating drums and throwing rice.

Malaysian Consul General Yap Wei Sin said the tradition was also observed in Malaysia, especially in Penang with its large ethnic Chinese community.

“That is a bond we share. Hopefully the Malaysian team’s participation will help manifest that bond visibly for everyone who is here in Hong Kong,” he said.