Some people may be surprised to learn that the list of top-level squash players in Hong Kong goes beyond icons like Rebecca Chiu Wing-yin and Annie Au Wing-chi. Young Post talked to four young full-time squash players about their careers.
Liu Tsz-ling has been the most successful of the four so far. With her three senior teammates, she won a silver medal in the women's squash team event at last year's Guangzhou Asian Games. When she stepped on to the podium, Liu had been a full-time player only six months.
'I was lucky to have finished my A-level exams in April last year and so had plenty of time to train,' said the Form Seven graduate from Jockey Club Ti-I College. 'I won the selection matches to gain the fourth and last place for the Hong Kong women's team at the Games.'
Liu, 20, now has a new target. 'I aim to do well in the tournaments with world-ranking points. Two months ago, I won the North Coast Open in Australia and got 210 points to boost my world ranking,'
In the latest rankings, she is ranked 89, with 506points.
Her former schoolmate Carmen Lee, also 20, completed Form Four at Jockey Club Ti-I College before turning professional three years ago. She put in an incredible performance in last year's Crocodile Squash Challenge Cup in Hong Kong. She reached the semi-final before losing to Joelle King, the world number 11.
This performance, along with those in several tournaments since, lifted Lee to number 63 in the world in May. Since then she has fallen to 94 in the rankings, mainly owing to changes in tournament schedules.