Wong Seeks to Put Personal Tragedy Behind
It’s an unfamiliar feeling for Wong Wing Ki to be playing the qualifying rounds of his home tournament, the YONEX-SUNRISE Hong Kong Open 2019.
· DEV SUKUMAR
He last played the qualifiers here when he was 16; now, in the latter period of a fairly long career, he laughs that he is back to where he started.
There are bigger things on his mind, though. When he made the semifinals of the Indonesia Open in July after a sequence of early exits, he was hopeful that it signalled a shift in his playing fortunes, but then came a blow on the personal front. His father died in early August.
“I had to take care of many things,” Wong says. “I had to conduct the funeral. So I couldn’t play well the last two-three months. On the other side, the good news is that my wife is pregnant. So there are too many things that I have to handle. It was a challenge.”