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She has been around the local greens for so long that people are speculating how old she is.

 But age is definitely not a barrier for Lena Yeung, one of Hong Kong's top women lawn bowlers. She brushes off attempts to uncover how old she is in the feisty style of a schoolgirl.

 'I never count my age,' giggles Yeung.

 Still people pay homage to the elder-stateswoman of Hong Kong lawn bowls - marvelling at her longevity in the competitive arena.

 'Some people think she is approaching her 80th birthday. She certainly does not look it,' says long-time lawn bowling enthusiast Bill McMahon in admiration.

Yeung is an outstanding example of age being no obstacle in this sport where the stereotypical image is of middle-aged people pottering around the field between breaks for tea and cucumber sandwiches.

 'Age does not count in this sport. All that matters is stamina and the mental sharpness,' says Yeung. 'I feel fitter than most people half my age.'  She has a game to match that sentiment. For more than two decades she has been amongst the leading women bowlers in Hong Kong. Even now she is at the top of the heap, ranked second.

 'If you count her points for the last three years, she is in the top five category . . . in second place,' revealed Julia Wong, the recently-elected president of the Hong Kong Ladies Lawn Bowls Association (HKLLBA).

 This consistent record saw her picked to represent Hong Kong at September's Pacific Bowls Championships in Malaysia. But Yeung turned down the opportunity.

 Controversy surrounded the selection of the team. The HKLLBA had thrown out an original list proposed by the selectors. Yeung's name was missing as she apparently had not qualified. A fresh criteria was set with points from the Sunday League and not the Saturday League counting. Yeung found herself well in contention and was picked.

 But then she made herself unavailable.

 'She did not want to go. If she wanted to go she could have, but she gave her place up for a younger bowler to go,' said Wong.

 There was another, more important, reason for making herself unavailable - she is preparing Hong Kong's disabled lawn bowls team for an international competition in Sydney this October.

 Yeung is the national coach of the disabled athletes, an involvement that began 18 years ago.

 'I was not available to represent Hong Kong because I'm committed to coaching the disabled team. We will have four blind bowlers, four wheelchair bowlers and two other disabled bowlers in the team. I get more pleasure from seeing them do well than achieving personal glory,' Yeung said.

 And people are well aware of the sacrifices she has made. Last month, she won the 1998 HongkongBank Distinguished Services Award for Coaching. In his congratulatory missive, Dr York Chow, the president of the physically handicapped sports association, praised her for being 'an exemplary role model for coaches'.

 Yeung has tasted success at a personal level on many occasions. Representing Hong Kong for the first time in 1981, at the World Bowls Championships in Toronto, she won a gold medal in the triples competition. She achieved this same feat when Hong Kong hosted the same event in 1993.

 She has also won a silver medal in the World Bowls Championships in the fours event and three bronze medals at the Pacific Games.

 She also represented Hong Kong at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada.

 Her love affair with lawn bowls began in the 1960s when accompanying her husband, Omar Sadick, to the Kowloon Cricket Club. She was persuaded to play.

 'At first I did not like it. It was too slow for me,' Yeung said.

 Born in Burma, Yeung and her sister, Yeung Ying-lai, grew up in China. They arrived in Hong Kong soon after the end of World War Two. Like so many others, they fled Shanghai to escape from the communists.

 'I was an actress at the time and had done a few movies in Shanghai. When I came to Hong Kong, I continued acting and had the lead role in one Mandarin movie called A Girl in the Forest.

 'I gave it all up when I got married to Omar in 1965. He was a keen lawn bowler and he encouraged me to take up the sport,' Yeung added. They had one son, who is now a doctor in Canada.

 In the '80s, Yeung made the headlines regularly for her feats in the local circuit as well as in overseas competition. One year after her husband died, in 1981, Yeung's life transformed again. Hong Kong hosted the Fespic Games that year. And much to Yeung's chagrin, the hosts did not have a lawn bowls team in the Games.

 'That same year we decided to set up a disabled team. The other reason why I got involved with the disabled was the fact that when I was two years old, I had polio. I couldn't walk or talk . . . but I recovered through acupuncture.'  That incident from her infancy has apparently left a long-lasting impression on her. And today she does everything she can to help the disabled athletes. In her role as the lawn bowls head coach for the sports association for the physically handicapped, she has guided Hong Kong to numerous successes on the international greens.

 Her goal now is to see more young women take up the sport and to spread the game in China.

 'When I started playing the game there were only a few private clubs in Hong Kong. I was a housewife with a lot of time on my hands. Only the privileged class played lawn bowls. Thankfully, that has all changed today with the sport being more open to the general public.

 'There are more facilities for the public today. The Urban Council has built five venues and this has seen more people playing the sport.'  In 1974, when the HKLLBA was formed, there were only around 30 women playing the game. Today that number has increased to 340.

 'These are the registered members of the association. I hope more people, especially young girls, will start playing the game,' said Yeung, who was treasurer and president of the HKLLBA in the '80s.

 Her day begins at 4.30am with a two-and-a-half hour session of walking, tai-chi and kung fu. At day's end, a game of lawn bowls is a nice way to wind down.

 'I feel very fit. I exercise a lot, eat lots of vegetables and keep myself occupied. If you have an interest in life, then you will enjoy life more,' said Yeung.

 'Age does not count. If I can keep up my stamina and my standard of play . . . who knows, I might continue to represent Hong Kong in the future.'  Two hours after this interview was conducted, Yeung was on the telephone to the Sports Post 'Just to cut out all the speculation on my age, I will reveal it . . . I'm 61.' bowlgst 



Former actress Lena Yeung is queen of HK's bowling greens