[Paris Olympic Qualification Tournament.Direct attack]Hong Kong Football Association lost in stoppage time and lost to Japan to compete for tickets to next year’s World Heritage Games

[Sports Road to Osaka]The Paris Olympic Sevens Asian Qualifying Tournament was held today (18th) at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan. The Hong Kong men’s team, the two-time Asian Games gold medalist, failed to maintain its two-time lead. The advantage was finally lost in stoppage time, and they lost to their old enemy Japan 14:21. They failed in the finals for three consecutive times. They failed to directly obtain a ticket for next year’s Olympic Games. They will move to the World Regional Legacy Competition next year to fight for the last one. The opportunity to step into the Olympic hall.

The men’s and women’s rugby sevens events at the Paris Olympics each have 12 places, and competition began last year. Eight men’s teams and seven women’s teams participating in the Asian qualifying competition will compete for one Olympic spot each within two days. The second and third place will fall into the World Regional Legacy Competition on June 23 next year. After being eliminated in the finals of the last two editions, the Hong Kong Rugby team made a comeback this year, hoping to become the second Hong Kong team to qualify for the Olympic inter-team event since hockey in 1964. They appeared as the top seed and ranked with 3 consecutive wins yesterday. The top four qualified for the top four, and earlier today they defeated China with a score of 19:12, reaching the finals for the third consecutive time.

The Hong Kong team met Japan for the third time in the Asian Games in the past two months. In the quarter-finals of the Asian Games in Hangzhou at the end of September, they tied the opponent at the buzzer and then won with a “golden touchdown” in overtime. Last month, they won The Asian Rugby Sevens Series finals in Thailand were victorious. The two armies met again today. Hong Kong team’s Chinese veteran Yao Jincheng was selected as the main team, and Denmark’s main scorer was first in the reserve. The two sides marched quickly and exchanged offense and defense. Less than 2 minutes into the game, Hong Kong player He Yisheng broke through and scored a touchdown on the left sideline to open the scoring. Together with Wei Zhaoxin’s additional penalty kick, the lead was 7:0. One and a half minutes later, Japan returned the lead. Color, Taiga Ishida got rid of the Hong Kong team’s defense and succeeded in the middle. Lin Dacheng hit an additional free throw to help the home team equalize 7:7. However, before halftime, Bootette received a big pass from Wei Zhaoxin in the backfield and rushed forward with speed to score a touchdown. Together with Wei Zhaoxin’s additional free throw, the Hong Kong team once again gained a 14:7 advantage.

After changing sides, Denmark was replaced in the battle, but unfortunately there was no chance. The two teams kept fighting in the midfield, and the battle was stalemate. The Japanese army counterattacked, and finally took advantage of the Hong Kong team’s defensive mistakes in the last minute and scored a touchdown and an additional free throw. Tied for the second time at 14:14, entering stoppage time, Japan scored a “deciding touchdown” with the last shot, and together with additional free throws completed the reversal, the Hong Kong team “turned victory into defeat” at 14:21, making it their third consecutive victory. After a disappointing performance in the finals, he will move to the World Regional Competition in June next year to compete for tickets to the Paris Olympics.

Pictures and text: Li Zizheng

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This article is written by “Sportsroad“Originally published in “[Paris Olympic Qualification Tournament.Direct attack]Hong Kong Football Association lost in stoppage time and lost to Japan to compete for tickets to next year’s World Heritage Games」