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Ng On-yee in the final against Cheung Yee-ting at the Hong Kong women’s snooker tournament at the Legend Snooker Club in Cheung Sha Wan in 2020. Photo: SCMP/ Jonathan Wong
SportHong Kong

Hong Kong’s Ng On-yee and Marco Fu to miss British Open while organisers confirm ‘major blow’ to Chinese event return

  • WPBSA chairman Ferguson confirms Ng and Fu’s ‘problematic’ UK hold-up ‘purely down to travel’
  • Chinese government refuses to host international events ‘until after the Winter Olympics’
World Snooker
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Ng On-yee and Marco Fu Ka-chun will miss the upcoming British Open but snooker’s world governing body insists it is working to ensure the Hong Kong pair can compete in the remaining events of the tour.

Official World Governing Body of Snooker and Billiards (WPBSA) chairman Jason Ferguson said he was “disappointed” that events such as the debuting Turkish Masters were forced to be postponed due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, while a return to China is still up in the air.

“It’s purely down to travel. The travel is just so difficult for them, and not just getting [to the UK]. We think we can get them here but realistically they’ll be staying here for months at a time and getting back home is going to be problematic,” Ferguson told Metro.

“Until things clear a little bit the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) have said, ‘Our advice is don’t go at this moment in time’. We’ll work hard with the players and the HKSI to get them here.”
Marco Fu Ka-chun of Hong Kong at the Coral World Grand Prix against Ronnie O'Sullivan in 2019. Photo: Handout
World No 2 Ng was forced to pull out of the Championship League in July – what would have been her pro debut and a duel with the legendary Ronnie O’Sullivan – due to Covid-19 concerns. Meanwhile, Fu has not played since returning to Hong Kong from the Welsh Open in February 2020.

Ferguson, who also confirmed Chinese superstar Ding Junhui would miss out having returned home after being “without his wife and daughter for a long, long time” on tour in the UK, was not optimistic in organising a competitive China return for the first time since the 2019 World Open.

 
The Chinese government has put a hold on most international sporting events until after the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, scheduled for February 4-20 next year.
This month, China reported its most serious outbreak since last year’s Wuhan peak and is continuing to test tens of millions across the country’s provinces.

“I think we’re fairly clear on where we are. The government have been clear that they shouldn’t be putting any international events on until after the Winter Olympics,” he said.

 

“That’s a major blow in terms of planning for events, but at the same time we understand the strategy that the government has taken to protect the Winter Olympics. It looks as though February will be when we’re clear on what we can do.

“With the China Open usually in March – and we’d planned to put a couple of events there back-to-back – that does look doubtful now to do it in the current season. It doesn’t mean we can’t do the World Cup after the season, but we’re subject to restrictions being lifted.

“The government’s got a responsibility to protect the Winter Olympics as a major global event. If we’re not going to hear about what we can do in China until after the Winter Olympics then that’s going to wipe out China events for the current season. Realistically we’re planning for the following season.”

Should the restrictions continue, Ferguson added that the WPBSA would look “a bit closer to home” to fill its season tour calendar.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: local snooker stars playing waiting game
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