Hong Kong veteran basketball player gives his tips on how to stay fit as you get older
After years playing at the highest level, Lau Chi-kin, 38, is now in the autumn of his career. He gives his advice on how best to maintain your fitness levels for as long as possible
When Lau Chi-kin was 12, his family moved to Lei Muk Shue Estate, which had a basketball court. This would spark his basketball life, leading to a stint at Hong Kong’s national team, and encounters with the sport’s luminaries including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (a US Presidential Medal of Honour recipient with six US National Basketball Association championship rings during his 20-year playing career).
The teenage Lau learned the game on his “home” court and regularly shot hoops with his neighbours. He also had a growth spurt that summer. Upon his return to TIACC Woo Hon Fai Secondary School in Tsuen Wan, Lau stood head and shoulders above many pupils, drawing the attention of a sports teacher who invited him to join the basketball team.
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“It’s funny because when I first joined the team, I didn’t play [as] a forward; because I was the tallest guy in the team, I was placed in defensive centre,” the now 38-year-old recalls.
Suddenly his team was on the rise, and the underdog side demolished St. Francis Xavier’s School’s team in Tsuen Wan (which had held the championship title for years) and took home the trophy.
Many viewed Lau as responsible, and the coach of that rival school invited Lau to play at a club.
