As a child, Wan Kin- yee was extremely quiet and shy.
Today the 23-year-old sprint queen handles the media sportlight with aplomb, charming everyone with her lively personality and intelligent conversation.
'People found me quite strange as a child because I was very reluctant to express myself or speak out in front of the others,' recalls Wan.
'Sports have helped me to grow up over the past years. I learned how to get along with people and how to deal with the press, she said.
Wan recently represented Hong Kong at the Asian Games in Bangkok. While she managed to outperform one of the most famous names in the history of the Asian Games, India's P.T. Usha, her time of 24.38 seconds did not qualify her for the finals.
Wan, whose best record for 200m was 23.85 seconds, was naturally disappointed with her performance at the Games. 'But I accept it; this is not my first time to taste failure. I was quite nervous and couldn't concentrate well during the competition and that affected my performance and confidence,' she said.
However, sports commentators at the Asian Games say Wan was competing way beyond her league against Asian sprint champions such as Sri Lanka's Damayanthi Darsha and China's Li Xuemei. They noted Wan's potential, describing her as one of Hong Kong's new generation of runners.
