Passionate and devoted to doing volunteer work to help make huge events successful, Ng also was a volunteer at the Beijing Olympics two years ago and the East Asian Games in Hong Kong last year.

This time, Ng will work at a counter offering wheelchair and baby-stroller services in one of the stadiums during her 19-day stay in Guangzhou. She requested to work on the front line, so she could directly serve visitors.

'I really want to tell people that age is neither an excuse nor an obstacle to helping others,' Ng says, adding that she will also want to volunteer for the 2023 Asian Games, if Hong Kong wins the bid to host it. 'No matter how old you are, you can be a volunteer as long as you are physically fit.'

Adrian Yip Chun-to, chairman of the Hong Kong Volunteers Association which recruited volunteers, said it had received many 'high-quality' applications, including professionals such as a listed company's chief executive, a university professor and a doctor.

The 300 were chosen from more than 1,000 applications, almost double the number the association thought it would get.

The applicants were interviewed before they were selected.

'We didn't expect so many applications, because, unlike the summer Olympics, many students can't volunteer this time, as they have no holidays in November.'

Yip also said Hong Kong people had been more active in volunteering for large events since the region hosted numerous international events such as the World Expo in Shanghai and the Beijing Olympics.

Dr John Fenn, a urologist with St John Ambulance, volunteered for the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and the East Asian Games last year. He said Hongkongers faced challenges in volunteering for multi-sport games, as it was difficult to get approval to take time off work.

Even so, he says, volunteering always offers a rewarding opportunity to learn and experience different cultures, on top of the chance to contribute to society.

Fenn will lead nearly 50 Hongkongers providing first aid and medical services.

Another volunteer, Boky Lai Ka-po, 19, who is studying promotion and event management at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, says the Games will offer her valuable experience in learning how a mega event is organised.

'Only if you take part in it can you learn about event management,' Lai said. 'I think a successful activity not only needs a good organiser, but the participation of spectators and volunteers is just as important. A volunteer may just be a tiny part of the Games, but he is so important in giving the spectators a good impression of the event.'

Including the volunteers from Hong Kong, the Asian Games and Asian Para Games have nearly 600,000 volunteers, of whom over 86 per cent are from Guangzhou.

About 90,000 volunteers will work in the sports venues, while another half million will assist local residents and spectators across the city before and during the event.

The Asian Games run to November 27, and the Asian Para Games, for disabled athletes, will take place on December 12-19.