Fate, timing and a lot of skill spell success

There is a tricky relationship between failure and success, and rower Liao Shun-yin's experience is a perfect example of this. The 19-year-old athlete, nicknamed 'Long Leg' for obvious reasons, sat his A-level exams for the second time, and will receive his result next Thursday.

Last year, Shun-yin was a Form Seven student at Kiangsu-Chekiang College and his A-level results were actually not bad at all. He met the minimum requirement to enrol on a government-funded full-time degree at a local university.

So when, a month later, he heard from Jupas that he had not received an offer, he was puzzled.

'I was conservative when making my course choices, and put higher diploma courses [rather than degrees] as my top options, but still I got no offers. I was upset when I saw the outcome after all the effort I'd made for the exams,' said Shun-yin.

But when one door shuts, another opens.

Instead of trying to find an alternative study plan, Shun-yin made good use of his summer holiday and decided to train full time at the Hong Kong Sports Institute.

And his efforts paid off handsomely. He won a bronze medal in the lightweight men's four rowing event with three senior teammates at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.