The government argues it is getting the city to shape up its sporting profile by encouraging community activity, supporting elite athletes and promoting Hong Kong as a center for international sports events.

In a statement to the China Daily, the Home Affairs Bureau outlined the three-pronged approach and said its aim was to develop a "strong sporting culture" - something critics says the city has traditionally lacked.

The statement said the government would allocate more resources to schools and district level sports programs and review and expand feeder schemes that select young athletes for international level competitions.

"We aim to promote higher levels of sports participation in the community, in particular among young people," the statement said. "This will require us to make popular sports programs easily available, and to provide sufficient venue capacity to allow people at all levels to have regular opportunities for practice, training and competition."

In elite sports, the Hong Kong Sports Institute supports around 1,100 athletes, among them 700 elite athletes of whom 200 are full-time, the statement said.

Currently, Hong Kong has 15 so-called elite sports that receive the institute's backing: athletics, badminton, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, rowing, squash, swimming, table tennis, tenpin bowling, the triathlon, windsurfing, wushu and billiards.

The statement added: "Hong Kong hosts major international events every year that attract large numbers of local and overseas sports enthusiasts and showcase the city's ability to organise and to appreciate high-level sports competition.

"Our annual rugby, golf, volleyball, badminton and cricket events are a firm fixture on the world's sporting calendar, and the Hong Kong Marathon now draws some 70,000 participants.

"Hosting international events brings economic benefits and raises our international profile. It also encourages our athletes to perform at their best and inspires members of the public to become involved in sport themselves."

(HK Edition 08/29/2012 page4)