Judges, sports media and the public ignored well-known faces and voted instead in favour of youth at the 2003 Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards presented on Monday night at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Four of the six winners in the individual category are relatively unknown athletes aged 22 or under, and for the first time since 1989, windsurfing legend Lee Lai-shan did not collect a trophy.
Top snooker player Marco Fu Ka-chun, wushu expert Li Fai , squash star Rebecca Chiu Wing-yin and world champion wheelchair fencer Yu Chiu-yee were others who surprisingly missed out on the prizes.
The show was stolen by the enchanting table-tennis trio Lai Wai-ling, Wong Ka-man and Wong Man-yan, nominees from the Sports Association for the Mentally Handicapped.
The three teenagers scooped the Team of the Year Award for their outstanding performance at the 2003 INAS-FID World Table Tennis Championships in Mexico when they were crowned world champions.
The award is worth $50,000, and the girls picked up an additional reward worth $30,000 from event co-sponsors, the American International Assurance Foundation.