Hong Kong Under-23 Coach Tsang Chiu-tat Faces Challenges Preparing Team for Asian Games

He has a degree in accountancy but Tsang Chiu-tat can rarely have encountered a calculation as complex as the one of trying to help the Hong Kong under-23 team compete in this month’s Asian Games.

Appointed in July after predecessor Darren Arnott quit to become Football Club head coach, Tsang will work with his full 23-man squad for the first time on the eve of next Wednesday’s opening fixture against hosts Japan in the 45,000-capacity Toyota Stadium.

This week, those players in the city have gathered in the afternoon following morning sessions with their clubs. The Hong Kong Premier League contingent will play for their teams this weekend, with those involved in Sunday’s two matches flying to Aichi Prefecture on Monday, 24 hours after the rest of the squad.

Hong Kong face Thailand and Kyrgyzstan in their other two group games on September 20 and 23, respectively.

“It’s not easy [to prepare] because we have limitations,” Tsang, 37, said. “We have to train when players are very tired, so we need to take precautions.”

During a roughly 90-minute session at the Jockey Club HKFA Football Training Centre on Monday, Tsang repeatedly urged his players to slow to walking mode as soon as they had completed short and sharp pattern-of-play drills.