The Hong Kong flag that was printed on the jerseys of its badminton players at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has been discovered to be a wrong version of the national flag.
Experts pointed out that the petals of the bauhinia flower on the national flag on the jersey worn by Ng Ka Long Angus on Wednesday is wider and thicker than the permitted specifications of the official version of the flag.
The same mistake was also reportedly noticed on the jerseys worn by mixed doubles players Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet.
It was also pointed out that the version flag on the jerseys of the players was the regional flag emblem passed by the National People’s Congress in 1990, and not the regional flag incorporated into the Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance in 1997, when Hong Kong was handed over to China.
According to Mingpao, the Hong Kong Badminton Association has acknowledged the error in the flag and stated that the sponsor (Yonex) would give new, revised jerseys to the players competing today, namely Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet in the mixed doubles bronze medal match.
Ng Ka Long’s jersey was provided by FILA while Tang and Tse wore jerseys provided by Yonex.
FILA is the official sponsor of the Hong Kong team. The FILA jersey with the Hong Kong flag which was previously available on its official website has reportedly been taken down from the website since yesterday.
The incident might be serious enough to call for a police investigation, stated a top barrister from Hong Kong.
In a separate incident, Hong Kong police are already investigating an incident where Olympic Games fans booed China’s national anthem and drowned it out with chanting during a public screening at a mall.
