Sunday's fight involving ice hockey players from Turkmenistan and Hong Kong, China may have escalated due to the physical nature of the sport.

That's according to Education University physical education lecturer Lobo Louie.

"During the ice hockey game, it is quite violent. So in terms of our philosophy and sports development, there is a debate for games that have physical contact. If you play table tennis, you are separated [from your opponent] by the table. But for [contact] games like rugby, boxing, and ice hockey, how do we handle the emotions of athletes, that should be part of the game," he said.

Louie added the incident would serve as a lesson for athletes to learn how to control their stress levels during and after competitions.

He made it clear that contact sports often have stricter rules to protect athletes.

"The athletes have to stand out for a couple of minutes, or may be they are suspended for a few games or are even [given] a more serious penalty," he said.

Louie hoped the incident would not affect the performance of the Hong Kong, China team in later matches at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, and urged more promotion of professional sports ethics among athletes.