Organised by the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI), the Sports for Hope Foundation (SFHF) Outstanding Junior Athlete Awards (OJAA) presentation ceremony for the 2nd quarter of 2016 was held at the HKSI today. Ten junior athletes were awarded for their outstanding performance in this quarter.
Dr Trisha Leahy BBS, Chief Executive of the HKSI; Mr Pui Kwan-kay SBS, Vice-President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC); Mr Chu Hoi-kun, Chairman of the Hong Kong Sports Press Association (HKSPA) and Miss Marie-Christine Lee, founder of the SFHF officiated at the Ceremony.
The recipients were Chan Pui-kei (athletics), Cheung Ka-long and Ng Lok-wang (fencing), Lee Ka-yee and Mak Tze-wing (table tennis), Lin Wing-ka, Wong Hoi-ki and Wong Hong-yi (tennis), Yu Shing-him and Tan Ming-fai (triathlon).
Triathlete Yu Shing-him was honoured the OJAA title for the second time by his third place at the NTT Hatsukaichi ASTC Triathlon Asian Championships. Looking back, he found his first training and competition in North America 2015 was the most unforgettable experience. “It was winter and the temperature was very low. My entire body was freezing and it seriously affected my performance. Although my result was not good, it was undoubtedly the most valuable learning experience for me.” Yu admired the legendary Michael Phelps for his persistence in achieving his goal even he had once gone astray. The Asian champion will be his ultimate target in the next two years and he will consider turning into full-time training after completing the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education.
Yu’s teammate, Tan Ming-fai won the title in sprint distance junior men event at the same Asian Championships. He thanked the SFHF for supporting and encouraging young athletes, and had set his goal on the next Asian Games and Olympic Games.
Young fencer Ng Lok-wang was named the Outstanding Junior Athlete for the first time after winning the 5th place out of 110 entries in the men’s foil – cadet event at the Cadet and Juniors Fencing World Championships 2016 in April. He recalled how he won the match in the elimination round. “I was behind by 9:14 but I did not give in and fought so hard to gain the scores back. Finally, I won and advanced to the quarter-finals,” he grinned.
Olympian Cheung Ka-long was named OJAA for the fifth time after winning the first-ever gold medal for Hong Kong at the Asian Fencing Championships in the men’s foil event in April this year. With this, he is also regarded as one of the powerful force to be reckoned with in the fencing world. Cheung also took part in the just-concluded Rio Olympics and he made another history for Hong Kong fencing by advancing to the round of 16 in the Games.
Tennis player Lin Wing-ka, together with her teammates Wong Hoi-ki and Wong Hong-yi, shone at the ITF World Junior Tennis Competition 2016 (Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying), where they became the champions in the 14U girls’ team event. Having a different experience with triathlete Yu Shing-him, Lin’s fond moment happened in an invitation tournament in Guangzhou two years ago. The weather was very hot and she played really hard for over four hours with her partner Hong-yi and they finally won the match. She had learnt a good lesson from this experience and would keep giving her best to train.
Sprinter Chan Pui-kei received her first Award after excelling in girls’ 100m at the 17th Asian Junior Athletic Championships, where she broke the Hong Kong junior record with 11.85s but was edged out by one opponent to finish second at last. In addition, Ko Ho-long (athletics) was awarded the Certificate of Merit for this quarter.
Organised by the HKSI and sponsored by the Sports for Hope Foundation since 2012, 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.
The HKSI is the Government’s elite sport training systems delivery agent and is committed to provide 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.
Awardees’ Achievements in the 2nd Quarter of 2016 (PDF)
