Organised by the HKSI, sponsored by the Sports for Hope Foundation and supported by the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC) and the Hong Kong Sports Press Association (HKSPA), the Outstanding Junior Athletes Awards (OJAA) 4th quarter winners were announced today. To conclude the overall sporting performances in 2019, three annual awards including the Most Outstanding Junior Athlete Award, the Most Promising Junior Athlete Award and the Most Supportive National Sports Association were also unveiled.
Fu Huan Won the Most Outstanding Junior Athlete Award
Chan Yui-lam Earned the Most Promising Athlete Award
In 2019, many junior athletes achieved remarkable results in international competitions. Among them, 14-year-old Fu Huan (Billiard Sports) had the best sporting results by capturing a silver medal in the Boy’s event U17 at the World Juniors 9-Ball Championships 2019 and became the third Billiard Sports athletes being awarded the Most Outstanding Junior Athlete Award after Cheung Ka-wai in 2015 and Robbie Capito in 2017. Fu attributed his success to the unfailing support from coaches and counterparts, and he plans to have a celebration dinner with all of them. He is working hard for the national, Asian and world champion titles before he concludes his junior years. His long-term goal is to become a world champion and bring Hong Kong pride.
Chan Yui-lam (Swimming – Hong Kong Sports Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability (HKSAPID)) won her fourth OJAA title this year and was awarded the Most Promising Junior Athlete Award. Chan achieved excellent results in the international arena last year. She captured not only two gold medals in the S14 Women’s 50m Butterfly and S14 Women’s 200m Butterfly at the 2019 INAS Global Games, but also a bronze medal and set a new Asian record in the S14 Women’s 100m Butterfly at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships. Eyeing a berth at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, she will participate in more international competitions to enhance her world ranking.
The HKSAPID, which has submitted a total of eight successful nominations in 2019, was awarded the Most Supportive National Sports Association.
11 Athletes Became Q4 Recipients 5 Athletes Presented with Certificate of Merit
A total of 11 junior athletes from 9 sports were crowned OJAA title in the 4th quarter. The recipients are Cheng Sin-yan and Jason Gunawan (Badminton); Robbie Capito and Fu Huan (Billiard Sports); Lee Sze-wing (Cycling); Yu Ka-po (Kart); Chow Hiu-yau (Skating); Sebastian Nothhaft (Tennis); Poon Yat (Table Tennis); Chan Yui-lam (Swimming –HKSAPID) and Wong Ting-ting (Table Tennis –HKSAPID).
Cycling athlete Lee Sze-wing made her debut appearance in the senior category at the 40th Asian Track Cycling Championships and succeeded in capturing a bronze medal in the Elite Women’s Omnium. Lee said the preparation for the public examination would not affect her training. To achieve her target of winning a medal at the 2022 Asian Games, she will participate in more competitions to acquire experience.
Participating at the World Juniors 9-Ball Championships 2019, same competition as Fu Huan, Billiard Sports athlete Robbie Capito secured his seventh OJAA title by winning a bronze medal in the Boys’ Event U19. He was honored to be the role model of Fu Huan and said, “I will continue to work hard and hope to inspire more teenagers to join the sport in the future.” Moving to the senior level, Robbie will keep up his hard training.
Badminton athletes Cheng Sin-yan and Jason Gunawan delivered solid performance by winning a gold medal and a silver medal in the Women’s Singles U17 and Men’s Singles U17 respectively at the Korea Junior Open International Challenge. Jason then continued his excellent form to win another silver medal in the Men’s Singles U17 at the Asia Junior Championships 2019. Cheng will keep enhancing her skills and physical fitness to strive for better results in the future. Received his first OJAA title, Jason shared his target of reaching the semi-finals in the Men’s Singles at the 2022 Summer Youth Olympic Games. He is stepping up his training intensity and plans to exercise his full potential in the sport by turning full-time in the future.
Skater Chow Hiu-yau won a bronze medal in the Junior Ladies at the Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy 2019. Started skating at the age of six, Chow would like to learn the spirit of never-give-up from cyclist Lee Wai-sze and aspires to become a great athlete like her.
In addition, 5 athletes were awarded the Certificate of Merit for this quarter, including Ma Hok-him and Leung Tsz (Dance Sport); Wong Chi-hin (Life Saving); Chan Chung-yin and Lee Tsz-ching (Taekwondo). Lau Wing-tung (Life Saving); Gabriel Ching (Kart); Sum Sze-ching (Qigong); Chung Ka-yau and Ho Tsz-ling (Squash) were presented with the Certificate of Appreciation to recognise their hard work.
Organised by the HKSI, with support from the SF&OC and the HKSPA, the OJAA recognises the achievements of outstanding local junior athletes under the age of 19 on a quarterly basis. Each recipient is presented with a cash prize of HK$2,500, a sports voucher worth HK$2,500 and a certificate. For teams, they will receive a cash award of HK$10,000, a sport voucher worth HK$10,000 and certificates.
Being the Government’s designated organisation to provide the high performance training system for eligible sports, the HKSI is committed to providing an environment in which sports talent can be identified, nurtured, and developed to pursue excellence in the international sporting arena and to inspire potential athletes to pursue a full-time sports career.
