10-Year-Old Surfing Star Forced To Join Swiss National Team After Hong Kong Ban

A 10-year-old surfing star has joined the Swiss National Team after Hong Kong banned the sport.

Abandoned surfboard / Louis Moncouyoux/Unsplash

A 10-year-old surfing prodigy from Hong Kong was forced to join the Swiss junior national team after his home banned the sport per Kathryn Giordano of South China Morning Post.

China is now enforcing a surfing ban fairly strictly, much to the chagrin of every local surfer.

Though Mahohi Nguyen Tang was born in Hong Kong, his parents are from Switzerland, which is why he is now able to train with that team.

Hong Kong is home to Big Wave bay, a popular spot to surf if the name wasn't a giveaway. That is where Tang grew up surfing.

Giordano explained that while it hasn't been enforced, surfing at public beaches has never been 'allowed.' The government views it as a risk to swimmers and therefore banned it.

Now that it is being enforced and people are catching wind of the ban, locals are not very happy about it.

"I’ve known people who surf in Hong Kong, I’ve always known people who like to surf here. But it turns out it’s prohibited; I didn’t know that. Now that I do, I’m going to fight for it. I am very surprised that Hong Kong is putting this kind of restriction on this sport," lawmaker Adrian Pedro Ho King-hong told Surfer magazine.

Surfing is a worldwide sport and is not known to be too dangerous for those trying to swim while others do it, so it would make sense for the government to allow it.

The Swiss Alps offer some great options for surfing. Alaïa Bay in particular is a popular spot that many surfers love, so Tang will at least have some great places to enjoy the sport in the meantime.

The young star will almost certainly be in the conversation to represent Switzerland in the Olympic Games at some point in the future. There's no exact telling when that is, because of his age, but it will likely happen.

Competing in the event is the only reason that Tang has had to leave his old flag behind. He still lives in Hong Kong and would likely prefer to represent his home. That is not entirely up to him, however.

Surfing is fairly new to the Olympics, making its debut in 2020. The Swiss have not been too competitive at the games in a long time, but getting a wunderkind to represent the country could lead to a new sport that they can be a threat in.

Over the two summer games that have happened since surfing was made official, Switzerland has not medaled.