HONG KONG’S MEN FALL SHORT IN BID TO REACH 2027 WORLD LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP
10-6 defeat at hands of New Zealand means fifth place is best city can do, with top 4 at Asia-Pacific tournament qualifying for global event
Hong Kong's men have failed in their bid to qualify for next year's World Lacrosse Championship after slipping to a 10-6 loss to hosts New Zealand in the Asia-Pacific Championship on Friday.
Victory in Wellington would have earned Hong Kong a spot in the semi-finals, and with Japan, who beat South Korea 18-7 in their play-in encounter, also going through to the last four, all the semi-finalists have reached the global tournament in Japan.
The result ends Hong Kong's run at the World Championships, where the men have been an ever-present since their 2002 debut. The side's best finish was the 13th place they managed in San Diego in 2023.
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In the first play-in match at the NZCIS Competition Field in Upper Hutt on Friday, Hong Kong, who fielded a younger team at the International Lacrosse Sixes on home soil last month in preparation for this event, went blow-for-blow with their opponents early on, with a Tao Corbyn brace cancelling out goals from home pair Oliver Henry and Murdoch Bech.
However, that was as close as they got, with New Zealand scoring five times in 15 minutes through Sam Nash, James Stacey, Dante Martin, Kyle Parker and John Clayton.
Corbyn bagged two more, and a Cody Lam strike narrowed the gap to 7-5 midway through the third quarter, but Stacey and Martin struck again, and while Kurtis Shum gave Hong Kong a glimmer of hope, the hosts had the final word through James Gelb.
Defeat leaves Hong Kong to battle South Korea on Saturday for fifth place, with a loss there leaving the city's men to play China for the right to finish the tournament in sixth.
Hong Kong will fancy their chances of finishing on a high note having beaten China 17-2 in the opening stages on Thursday.
As well as New Zealand and Japan, Australia and the Philippines have qualified for the World Championships, which will be held in July.
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This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), the leading news media reporting on China and Asia.
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2026-01-09T03:38:21Z
