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SCMP Reporter

WUSHU exponent Cheng Ka-ho was the only surprise among the six winners of the 1995 Junior Sports Stars of the Year Awards - an annual presentation to honour the territory's outstanding under-19 athletes.

    Squash aces Jackie Lee Chun-kit and Rebecca Chiu Wing-yin - both winners of the 1994 awards - repeated their success, and joining them on the winners' rostrum were tennis player John Hui Kin-yip, swimmer Heidi Wong Hoi-tik and shuttler Koon Wai-chee.

   This year's awards must be the most keenly contested in its seven-year history with many of the territory's young athletes now capable of bringing home medals at international level.

  Jackie ended his junior years with his third successive Sports Stars trophy, his biggest moment in 1995 being his performance at the World Team Championships in November.

  The La Salle College student was 18 at that time but was already the number two in the Hong Kong squad, and he played an important role in helping the territory to its best result, 14th place, in the world tournament.

  He also won his fourth straight Hong Kong Junior Closed Championship crown, and made the finals in the individuals at the Asian Junior Championships, in which he led Hong Kong to third place in the team event.

  Rebecca has established herself as Hong Kong's leading woman player at just 17 years.

  It came as no surprise that she was nominated for her second straight Sports Stars award.

  The highlight of Rebecca's 1995 achievements was her defeat of Asian squash champion Mah Li Lian at the Singapore Open.

  The Jockey Club Ti-I College pupil also led Hong Kong to victory in the team event at the Asian Junior Championships, in which she was runner-up in the individuals event.

  Tennis prodigy John was another firm favourite who expectedly claimed one of the awards after an outstanding year in which he broke into the top 100 on the ITF junior world ranking.

  The 18-year-old emerged as the number one player in Hong Kong by winning the men's singles title at the hugely popular South China Open which attracted 372 entries.

  He won the Thailand ITF Junior Championships, and made the quarter-finals of the United States Open Junior Championships, a Grand Slam event, in the doubles event.

  Fourteen-year-old Heidi is the youngest winner but has already made her mark on the international stage - winning medals at the Short Course World Cup series.

  The breaststroke specialist collected a silver and a bronze medal in the Finland leg of the World Cup when she was still 13.

  Exciting young badminton prospect Wai-chee is another worthy winner, with outstanding results at the Australian Open and New Zealand Open. The Jockey Club Ti-I College student and Ng Ching reached the women's doubles final in Australia, and they went a step further by winning the New Zealand event.

  Wai-chee, winner of the girls' 15-and-under title at the high profile Prince Asian Junior Invitational, is the Hong Kong under-18 champion and she is now ranked second in the territory.

  It was a small surprise that wushu player Ka-ho won an award, although he entered the poll with outstanding credentials that included a fourth place finish in the nanquan event at the World Championships.

  The 16-year-old made his international debut in Baltimore, but was not a bit overawed by the opposition and produced a strong performance that earned him fourth position in the 68-strong nanquan field.

  Ka-ho is a versatile wushu exponent, and is also the Hong Kong champion in the broadsword and cudgel events.

   Thirty-seven athletes representing 21 sports entered for the poll.

    Among those who lost out were Liu Kwok-wah, Kwok Man-tik, Tam Chi-kin, Daniel Lee Chi-wo, Cheng Hing-lun, Fan Tsz-ho and female athletes Alli Li Yin-yee, Jacklyn Fu Yan-ning, Olivia Chan Hoi-suen and Fung Wai-man.



Stars welcome wushu champ to their ranks