With RS: X making its swansong at the Asian Games this summer, the 20-year-old Au Ling-yeung hopes to win gold and has shown his determination by losing more than 10 kilograms in the last two weeks, with another 10kg to lose to fit the class.
Due to the light wind at Shek O, the last leg of the 2022 Hong Kong Windsurfing circuit concluded on Sunday with only two races, with Hangzhou Asian Games foursome Cheng Ching-ying and Ma Kwan-ching winning the men’s and women’s IQFoil, and Ngai Wai-yan and Au finishing first and second in the mixed RS: X class.
“I actually do not have much experience in RS: X. Today is really difficult under this weather. I had to pump my sail every second,” said Au, who had only one year of RS: X competition experience before focusing on IQFoil in 2019.
The Association finalised the Hangzhou Asian Games name list last week, with internal selection winners Cheng and Ma chosen for IQFoil, the new Olympic class, and runners-up Au and Ngai set to compete in the RS: X.
The young Hongkonger, who weighed 72kg when he joined the city’s squad in 2017, has bulked up to 92kg with over 4,500 calories to consume per day since 2021, when they discovered that heavier weights have better control in IQFoil.
And now he is limited to 1,300 calories per day, with the Hongkonger aiming to lose 20kg before heading to Europe for RS: X training in late April, and he is already halfway there.
“It’s not an easy job, whether you’re trying to gain or lose weight,” he said. “When I needed to gain weight for IQFoil, I needed to consume more than 4,000 calories per day, and my stomach complained a lot. While I ate very little the last two weeks, it is difficult to feel hungry all the time.
Asian Games debutante Au said that in addition to cutting calories from his diet under the supervision of a nutritionist from the Hong Kong Sports Institute, he also does a lot of workouts such as hiking, cycling, and running on alternate days that last four to five hours each.
“It’s my first Asian Games, and it gives me all the motivation to lose weight, and I hope to get a medal, hopefully a gold medal, in Hangzhou [in September],” said Au, who captured the under-21 crown at the 2022 International IQFoil Games Andalucia in Cadiz.
In comparison to Au, 28-year-old Ngai, who has been waiting for an Asian Games spot for years, is under less pressure to lose weight.
“I only picked up five kilos for IQFoil, but I feel quite comfortable losing weight in the next month,” said Ngai, who qualified for the 2018 Asian Games mixed RS: One but was denied entry because of the organisers’ last-minute age limit switch.
The IQFoil team will travel to Europe for training and competitions next month, with the first in Spain set for the middle of March, according to head coach Chan King-yin, while the RS: X team will remain in Hong Kong before joining the team in Greece in late April and heading to Hangzhou to train with the China team in July.