Mr Hung understood how insurance worked first-hand when he suffered serious injuries after being thrown off his motorcycle following a collision with another vehicle in Tsim Sha Tsui.

As he recovered from his injuries at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Mr Hung vowed to help others by spreading the gospel. Inspired by his own experience, he has been in the insurance business ever since. Two days before his accident, Mr Hung had won his fifth straight Super Series championship - then Hong Kong's most prestigious cycling event.

Hung was rushing back to work after completing a television interview when the accident happened. Working as a motorcycle messenger for a delivery company, his bike struck another vehicle, sending him flying across Austin Road in the middle of the morning rush hour.

'I had just won the Marlboro Super Series on June 30. I had a TV interview in the morning, so I had taken an hour's leave from work. It was a huge rush getting back to my office after the interview,' recalled Mr Hung, who was just 22 at the time of his accident.

'Then it happened. I shall never forget that moment when I was hit by the car. I was thrown to the ground. Even though I was wearing my helmet, the pain in my head was unbelievable. I passed out and woke up at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital having spent five hours in a coma.

'When I woke up, I was in terrible pain. I was in hospital for seven days. The day I was discharged, I immediately resigned from my messenger job, saying never again,' said Mr Hung.

Although his injuries healed over time, it was far too early for him to contemplate taking part in the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, which started three weeks later. 'I just didn't have enough time to recover from my injuries. Despite missing out on the Commonwealth Games, I realised the value of insurance. In December, 1986, I became an insurance agent,' he said. That accident marked a new chapter in the life of one of Hong Kong's greatest athletes. Now a district director of American International Assurance (AIA), Mr Hung knew he had followed the right career path.

'The concept of insurance is great because it helps people. At first, I referred all my friends to my insurance friend who was selling insurance at the time. My friend then asked me to have a go at it because I knew [so many] people,' said Mr Hung.

'Many people at the time thought I was a full-time rider. But, in fact, I was an amateur rider and didn't really have a steady job. I became an insurance agent and that gave me a lot of freedom. It was perfect for me as I could train, too.'

Mr Hung, 43, was glad he made the decision to continue cycling. While he carved a niche in sports as a cycling sensation, it didn't take him long to make headlines in his chosen profession. Four years after joining AIA, he shattered the company's record of securing the most cases in a year - a phenomenal 254.

'It was difficult for me at first because people's attitudes were different then. People didn't believe in insurance and I didn't have confidence in myself. But I think persistence and sincerity prevailed in the end and I managed to improve myself,' said Mr Hung.

'It's like when I was an amateur rider, we had no sponsorship at all. We even bought our own bikes,' said the former Olympian, who comes from a large family with seven brothers and one sister.

'We were poor then. I didn't expect working the insurance field would be a long-time career at first. I was wrong. I thought it was the right job for me and I still enjoy it immensely. I love challenges, meeting people and learning new things.

'This job gives me the chance to learn skills in how to deal with people and how to overcome obstacles. If you work hard, you can get more,' said Mr Hung.

The flexibility of his job - especially in the early years - also gave Mr Hung the chance to show off his talents as one of Hong Kong's most successful cyclists.

After becoming a household name for much of the 1980s, Mr Hung retired as an athlete after the All-China Games in 1997, when he finished ninth in the individual road race won by teammate, Wong Kam-po, Hong Kong's world champion cyclist.

'My cycling training did help a lot. It helped me become more motivated. I don't feel working in insurance is harder than cycling. However, there were so many obstacles in cycling like the weather, the environment, family problems - lots of things that can put you down.'

On a typical training day, Mr Hung certainly put in the hours - and the miles - as he quickly became one of Asia's best riders. He cycled around 80km five times a week and competed on weekends. 'We had to give it our all during training because we had to go to work [afterwards] in the morning so we usually started training at 5am,' he said.

Mr Hung drew similarities between cycling and his work. 'Sometimes people reject you when you try to sell insurance to them. It's like when you're racing, you're not going to win all the time. But having said that, I managed to get some business without giving it much effort. It's sometimes down to luck. It's like when I was competing, sometimes I won without even putting in the training.'

The former cycling champion said there was a big difference in the perception of insurance than when he first became an agent. 'People think about their futures now. It wasn't the case before because people didn't really accept insurance, especially in Chinese culture. People didn't want anything to do with death or accidents, but times have changed,' he said.

Despite becoming one of Hong Kong's best-known cyclists, Mr Hung said becoming a coach was never an option for him because 'there wasn't such a thing as a coach in my days'. 'I had already been involved in insurance for 11 years by the time I retired from sports and my job was steady so I didn't think of becoming a coach,' said Mr Hung.

It is no surprise that Mr Hung's philosophy in life remains simple. 'As long as you have done your best, you shouldn't feel any regret. I have learnt the importance of hard work and I understand what it means to really struggle in life. But I've kept persevering, and I have learnt from past experiences. More importantly, there is no need to look back at the past. We should look forward to the future.'

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Roll of honour

1982 Won Marlboro Super Series in Hong Kong for first time

1985 Won bronze medal in the team trial time at Asian Championships

1986 Joined AIA; won Coca-Cola Sports Stars Award for first time

1987 Won another bronze medal in the team time trial at Asian Championships

1988 Finished 12th in individual road race at Seoul Olympic Games (best Asian rider)

1989 Won seventh Marlboro Super Series title

1990 Broke AIA case record (254 cases) and became 'Agent of the Year'

1991 Promoted to AIA supervisor and became 'Supervisor of the Year'

1992 Promoted to AIA unit manager and became 'Unit Manager of the Year'

1998 Promoted to branch manager

2000 Received the Chartered Insurance Agency Manager Award

2002 Promoted to district director

2006 Completed financial planning risk management course