Leo Au Chun-ming came close to clinching the Hong Kong team a historic place in the semi-finals of the World Junior Men's Squash Championships being held in New Zealand this week.
The quarter-final between Hong Kong and Malaysia went right down to the wire, lasting more than three hours.
Fourth seeds Malaysia won the tie, but the plucky ninth-seeded Hong Kong team, led by stand-out Leo, almost secured the upset of the tournament.
Having qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time, the four-member Hong Kong team - comprising Leo, Max Lee Ho-yin, Alan Tsang Hon-yin and Fung Ji-yang - looked set to advance to the semi-finals.
Leo battled with Ivan Yuen for 97 minutes in the decider. Despite Leo's impressive effort, the Malaysian won 3-9, 9-2, 5-9, 9-3, 10-8.
Earlier in the week, the team produced an outstanding display in the pool stages to claim an unexpected place in the last eight.
They beat Pool A rivals Japan and Finland, before clinching a berth in the knock-out stages with a surprise win over number eight seeds The Netherlands.