Oscar Coggins, the two-time Asian triathlon champion, was born in Hong Kong but currently only has a British passport.

It had been hoped he would receive a Hong Kong in time to compete for Hong Kong at the Asian Games, due to take place between August 18 and September 2, but red-tape has held it up.

"Due to passport issues I’m unable to race," Coggins told the South China Morning Post.

"The Hong Kong-Chinese naturalisation process - which is the hardest part of the process - has been completed, but I’m waiting on my UK renunciation which is taking longer than expected. 

"It’s the last hurdle we’re waiting to overcome and it’s just a case of the UK Home Office now."

Coggins enjoyed the biggest success of his career last Saturday (August 4) when he won Asian Cup event in Almaty in Kazakhstan.

It was Coggins' first senior international race after finishing his A-levels at Millfield School in England.

He is due to start studying at Britain's prestigious Loughborough University later this year.

"I felt good going into the race but was definitely not expecting to win," he said. 

"Over the last few years my results have been getting better and better - from top 10 [finishes] to top fives - but this win came a bit sooner than what we were expecting."

Coggins hopes the passport issue is cleared up in time so he can represent Hong Kong at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

"There’s a lot less time pressure on us now but this year is going to be really important for qualifying for 2020," he told the South China Morning Post.

"I’m devoting almost all my time to triathlon and racing."