Asian Games gives Hong Kong squash pair ‘unexpected’ route into 2028 LA Olympics

This year’s Asian Games has taken on added importance for the region’s squash players after it was made part of the qualification process for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The squash competition will be made up of 32 players in total, with 16 each in the men’s and women’s draw.

On Monday, officials said qualification would be determined by the world rankings, success at continental games, and that there would also be a universality place, a host country berth, and a spot to be taken by the winner of a final qualifying tournament.

For players such as Hong Kong’s Alex Lau Tsz-kwan and Tomato Ho Tze-lok, September’s Asian Games in Japan present a first chance to secure a spot in LA, where squash will make its Olympic debut.

Lau, the city’s top men’s player, said there were “both advantages and disadvantages” to the process, which in principle means there will be one player per country in each of the draws, but there ‌could be a maximum ‌of two.

Whatever happens, many of the world’s top players are likely to miss out. Egypt, for example, has seven players in the top 16 of the latest men’s rankings and eight in the women’s, including four of the top five.