HK taekwondo athlete excited to make Olympic debut

Being the first to do something is never easy, especially when you have the weight of an entire city on your shoulders, and Lo Wai-fung is going to do just that on Thursday with his Olympic taekwondo debut at the age of 21. Lo will be competing in the men’s under 68kg qualification contest at the Paris Olympics. This is the first time a Hong Kong, China athlete has qualified for the event since taekwondo became an Olympic sport back in 2000. “I am the first one. I am going into competition with the weight of over 100,000 taekwondo enthusiasts in Hong Kong, so it's a mission. They all support me, whether they watch the competition on television or live. Their support is my motivation so I am very thankful for them,” he said. Since obtaining his spot at the Paris Games in May, the taekwondo athlete has undergone training at camps overseas. Lo also watched the first day of taekwondo action on Wednesday to observe the referees in preparation for his own match. “When I first stepped into the competition venue, I was very excited but also nervous. I'm excited because I get to compete in the world’s largest sporting event. I'm also nervous because I’ve never competed in such a large-scale competition before,” he said. “There's a lot of pressure with so many spectators watching me, but I will turn that into my motivation.” Lo will first take on Yahya Al Ghotany of the Refugee Olympic Team in a qualification contest at 3pm Hong Kong time on Thursday. “I’ve never competed against the Refugee Olympic Team representative before, but I’ve watched him fight in YouTube videos, and he is always prepared in how he combats and what technique to use when he competes. I’ve only ever watched him in videos, so I won’t know his actual speed and strength until I go up against him. I won’t underestimate him,” he said. If Lo beats Al Ghotany, he will once again face world number six Ulugbek Rashitov of Uzbekistan in the round of 16. The Uzbek beat Lo at the same stage at the Hangzhou Asian Games, where he ended up taking gold. “I knew this opponent was famous at the time, so I didn’t think too much and just focused on combat. You need to give it your all when you step on the stage. Though I lost in the end, I did reflect on the competition,” he said. “I asked myself if the gap with this opponent was really that big. If I work harder, I wonder if I can lessen the gap now in competition, and even win.” The Grand Palais has been transformed to host the taekwondo events, after the historic venue hosted fencing.