People in Hong Kong who know anything about wheelchair fencing know Alison Yu Chui-yee. The 28-year-old has achieved success in and out of competition and is always looking for ways to push herself even further.
Yu took up wheelchair fencing in 2000. She represented Hong Kong in the 2004 and 2008 Paralympics, winning a total of eight gold medals and one silver. She has also had success at the World Wheelchair Fencing Championships. But she is not sitting on her laurels. 'As an athlete, I treat every match as a new challenge and I don't look back,' she says. 'Gaining more experience and medals are always my targets.'
Yu says the secret of her success is to stay optimistic.
The athlete was diagnosed with bone cancer in her left leg when she was 11. After two years of unsuccessful grafts and chemotherapy, the only option was to have part of her leg removed. But she recalls her stay in Lady Pao Children's Cancer Centre of Prince of Wales Hospital with some pleasure.
'I made friends at the ward and they taught me how to play the 'Big Two' card game,' she says. 'Of course I was sad after the surgery, but it was not devastating to me.' She made fast progress, and within two years, she was walking on her artificial leg without a stick.
Later she attended Chinese University and gained a degree in geography and resource management, followed by a master's degree in sport studies.
Then about five years ago, she became host of the sports radio programme Decathlon, which airs at 7pm on Saturdays on RTHK 1. This was in addition to her 20 hours of weekly training at the Hong Kong Sports Institute in Sha Tin.