The chief executive asks officials to ‘follow up on the incident’, which came after a physical, bad-tempered game the city won 5-1
The city’s leader John Lee Ka-chiu has visited the players who were attacked after an ice hockey match against Turkmenistan at the Asian Winter Games, and praised them on Monday for “demonstrating the professionalism and sportsmanship of Hong Kong athletes”.
Three of the men’s team were hurt in a scuffle on Sunday, when Turkmenistan trio Erkin Kakabayev, Arslan Geldimyradov and Begench Dovletmyradov threw punches during the postgame handshakes.
None of the injuries were serious, however, and Chief Executive Lee said he had been told all three were fit enough to be available to play against Kyrgyzstan in a quarter-finals ranking encounter 36 hours later.
Officials have still not publicly identified those Hong Kong players involved, although forward Ryan Chu Chak-hay, who scored and had two assists in his side’s 5-1 Group C win on Sunday, was believed to have been on the receiving end of a punch from Dovletmyradov.
During his visit to the athletes’ village, Lee said he had asked officials to “follow up on the incident”, which came after a physical, bad-tempered game in which the teams together faced an hour’s worth of penalties.
He also praised the team’s “outstanding performance” at the Games, which he said was “a source of pride”.
