A mistake can develop into a disaster, but in the case of 19-year-old Matthew Pang Ying-kit, it led him towards a successful career in sports.
Matthew has been an iconic star of inter-school sports since primary school. He is a popular all-rounder. 'I am active in the athletics, football, basketball and volleyball teams, and I played table tennis in Primary Four. I was hyperactive and I enjoyed games,' says the frequent medallist at contests. Besides ball games, he competed in the high jump and the 200m run in primary school.
When he was in Primary Six, instead of the high jump, his club wrongly entered him in the long jump in a tournament. The error was discovered too late to change.
'I had no choice but to compete in the long jump,' Matthew recalls. 'But my coach was impressed by my performance and told me to receive training.' This helped him choose his major event.
The athlete moved to La Salle College for his secondary studies, and kept winning at the long jump when representing his school and his club, Watsons Athletic Club.
His career high was in the 2009-2010 season. He won a silver medal at the Asian Youth Games and Asian Youth Athletics Championships. He played basketball, football and athletics for his school and that earned him the BOCHK Bauhinia Bowl Sports Boy of the Year Award.