Hong Kong, China's badminton team is making final preparations for the Asian Games in Nagoya next month.

However, the squad will be without the star mixed doubles pair of Jordan Tang and Tse Ying-suet after Tang suffered a severe anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear during practice earlier this month.

Tse will instead pair up with 17-year-old Cheung Sai-shing, who is set to make his Asian Games debut.

"This partnership was put together very suddenly, and we haven't really started practicing yet," Tse said. "I hope we can build good chemistry in such a short time."

"Cheung is a very talented athlete and he also has a very good training attitude."

Meanwhile, women's doubles duo Yeung Pui-lam and Lianne Yeung said they are aiming for at least a top-four finish in Nagoya. The world No 19 pair is coming off a career-best quarterfinal run at the BWF World Championships 2026 in New Delhi.

"It's a huge boost for us because we were both going through a slump at the start of the year. We struggled with our mindset, form, and chemistry," Yeung Pui-lam said.

"After talking things through and reviewing matches with our coaches, we slowly found our chemistry again. Getting this result before the Asian Games is a tremendous affirmation and gives us a real confidence boost."

The city's top men's singles player, Lee Cheuk-yiu, for his part, said he sensed tension within the team driven by medal expectations, stressing that players need to "learn to coexist with pressure".

He added that switching to a more defensive style following last year's slump has helped him regain his form.

Head coach Wong Choong-hann said the SAR team will complete a final two-week training block after next week's China Open before flying to Japan.


Edited by Aaron Tam