Hong Kong will be fielding a shuttlecock team at the National Games' mass participation event for the first time ever, when the events kick off on Friday in Zhaoqing, Guangdong.

Shuttlecock players have to keep a feathered rubber disc airborne using any part of their bodies, except their hands.

While the sport can be traced back to the Han Dynasty -- or even before that -- coach Lam Chi-wai said there is limited local awareness about the sport.

"Still, most Hong Kong people don't know what shuttlecock is, and we are trying to make more promotion," he told RTHK.

"These few years, we've tried to promote it in primary and secondary schools, and also in universities."

Lam, who's also the vice chairman of the Shuttlecock Association of Hong Kong, China, described the ancient sport as a dynamic hybrid.

"Many years ago, they would play in the playground or on the streets, and now, we've moved this sport to the inner court. We use badminton courts to play this sport," he said.

The coach said the game is mostly played in a best-of-three format, with each set running up to 21 points.

One of the 26 shuttlecock athletes representing Hong Kong at the Games is Stella Lui, a former table tennis player who fell in love with the sport after a friend introduced it to her.

Lui said she values the sport's collaborative intensity.

"Because it is similar to volleyball - you cannot play by yourself," she said.

"You need to set a successful attack and that means you need skills, and it requires communication and agility, balance, flexibility, a lot of things."

During the day, Lui teaches physical education and mathematics at a primary school. By night, she's back on the court training for the mass participation event.

She said while the Hong Kong team is expecting to face strong competition during the Games, her squad is focused and ready to give it their all.