Asia Sports Weekly News Bulletin – ISSUE 79 Week of 24 August 2026
(1) ASEAN Hyundai Cup Tickets Expected Late August; Kai Tak Preferred for Hong Kong Home Matches
Hong Kong will host one group of the ASEAN Hyundai Cup (24 September – 3 October), with the HKFA scheduling late-August ticket sales and Kai Tak as the primary home venue.
(2) Live cinema broadcasts of Fan Zhendong’s German premier table tennis club league sell out in three minutes
Tickets for the nationwide cinema screening of Fan Zhendong’s German matches sold out within minutes in multiple cities, highlighting the commercial pull of top athletes.
(3) Hang Seng Bank Pickleball Slam 2026 set for Kai Tak Arena in October
Asia’s largest professional pickleball event, offering a record US$1.1 million prize pool, will take place at Kai Tak Arena from 19–25 October.
(4) SPORTFEST Hong Kong 2026 opened under the theme of “Dare to Sport Dai Pai Dong” theme
Organised by Sportsoho, Hong Kong’s flagship multi-sport event ran at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 21–23 August, blending local culture with sports experiences and competitions.
(1) ASEAN Hyundai Cup Tickets Expected Late August; Kai Tak Preferred for Hong Kong Home Matches
(Photo Credit: Oriental Media)
Hong Kong will host Group D2 of the 2026 ASEAN Hyundai Cup, which is scheduled to run from 24 September to 3 October. The tournament is organised under FIFA, with Indonesia co-hosting another group of matches.
Hong Kong Football Association general secretary Charles Cheung confirmed that ticket sales are scheduled for the end of August. He noted that preparations are ongoing in close coordination with FIFA and the parallel host in Indonesia. Full details on the schedule, venues and ticketing will be released together once all elements are confirmed.
Kai Tak Sports Park remains the preferred venue for all of Hong Kong’s home matches. The association plans to request FIFA to schedule the Hong Kong team’s fixtures at the new stadium wherever possible.
The tournament represents another opportunity for the Hong Kong team to compete on home soil at the newly opened Kai Tak facility.
News Source: https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/sport/20260821/bkn-20260821140233296-0821_00882_001.html
(2) Live cinema broadcasts of Fan Zhendong’s German premier table tennis club league sell out in three minutes
(Photo Credit: Shanghai Observer)
On 29 August, Chinese table tennis star Fan Zhendong will represent his new club Borussia Düsseldorf in the Table Tennis Bundesliga (TTBL) match against Ochsenhausen. Youku Sports and Huaxia Film have arranged for the match to be screened live on big screens at 56 cinemas across mainland China.
Tickets for the cinema screenings went on sale in late August and sold out rapidly in multiple cities. In Shanghai, one cinema with 167 seats reported all tickets sold within three minutes; other venues sold out within 15 to 30 minutes. Beijing’s Huaxia Film Center filled all six of its allocated halls, while tickets also disappeared quickly in Shenzhen, Hangzhou and other cities.
Ticket prices generally ranged from RMB 50 to 90, with some Dolby Atmos halls priced at RMB 99. Pre-sale box-office figures exceeded RMB 500,000, outperforming several mainstream summer films and prompting descriptions of the screening as a “dark horse” of the summer season.
The strong demand underscores Fan’s commercial appeal beyond the court. After a successful previous season in the German league, his presence has already boosted club attendances and sponsorship interest, and the cinema broadcasts represent a new experiment in bringing club-level table tennis to a wider audience through the film exhibition channel.
News Source: https://www.jfdaily.com/staticsg/res/html/web/newsDetail.html?id=1164831
(3) Hang Seng Bank Pickleball Slam 2026 set for Kai Tak Arena in October
(Photo Credit: Sing Tao)
The Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Asia Professional Pickleball Tour 1500 – Hang Seng Bank Hong Kong Slam 2026 will be staged at Kai Tak Arena from 19 to 25 October. It is the first PPA 1500-level event ever held in Asia and serves as the season-ending finale of the PPA Tour Asia circuit.
The tournament carries a record prize purse of US$1.1 million (approximately HK$8.58 million) and awards 1,500 ranking points. Organised by F-Sports Promotions Limited with Hang Seng Bank as title sponsor and support from the Hong Kong Tennis Association, the event will feature both professional and amateur categories.
Commissioner of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, George Tsoi Kin-pan, attended the launch press conference and welcomed the event. He highlighted pickleball’s rapid growth in Hong Kong and its potential to encourage mass participation in sport because of its low barrier to entry.
Hang Seng Bank Executive Director and Chief Executive, Luanne Lim, said the bank was proud to bring Asia’s first PPA 1500 event to Hong Kong. She emphasised the bank’s ongoing support for local sports development and the city’s ambition to strengthen its position as Asia’s events capital.
(4) SPORTFEST Hong Kong 2026 opened under the theme of “Dare to Sport Dai Pai Dong” theme
(Photo Credit: Sing Tao)
SPORTFEST Hong Kong 2026, organised by Sportsoho, took place from 21 to 23 August at Hall 3DE of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. This year’s edition adopted the theme “Dare to Sport Dai Pai Dong”, combining Hong Kong’s iconic food-stall culture with sports experiences under the idea of accessible, energetic participation for all.
Featured attractions included the Best Mart 360° Pickleball Arena (with open, tertiary and parent-child challenges plus beginner clinics), the YF Life All-Round New Sports Experience Zone offering workshops in roundnet, teqvoly, flatland freestyle snowboarding, disc golf and more, the VAN RYSEL “Tour De 1000 KM” team e-cycling challenge, the Panasonic Hong Kong Throwdown 2026 functional fitness championships, the POCARI SWEAT-presented NEXUS street-dance battles, and the V.Cares Youth Volleyball Training Programme finals.
Members of popular girl group Lolly Talk joined Asian Games marathon representative Wong Cheuk-ning for the opening ceremony, helping to generate an energetic atmosphere.
Event director Chan Kwun-ying explained that the “dai pai dong” concept was chosen to make sport feel approachable for people of all ages and backgrounds. Wong also shared her preparation outlook for the upcoming Asian Games, stressing that she now aims to enjoy the race rather than focus solely on specific results.
News source: https://www.singtao.ca/7603985/2026-08-21/news-%E3%80%8C%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E9%81%8B%E5%8B%95%E7%AF%80/
