Elite athletes look beyond final race with special academic programmes

Olympian Yip Pui-yin's parents were not too impressed when she quit school after Form Four to play badminton full time.

But they were happier yesterday, Yip said, when she began her studies for a bachelor of health education - one of six elite athletes admitted to the course at the Hong Kong Institute of Education.

Yip, whose victory in the Hong Kong championships on Sunday was a boost of confidence after being knocked out in the women's singles quarter-finals at the London Olympics, said she and the others wanted a degree to help secure jobs when their athletic careers were over.

"Many of my athlete friends want to get a degree because it will be of great help when they have to look for jobs once their athletic life ends," the 25-year-old Yip said. "You need to be a Form Five graduate to join the police. If I have a degree, I can even be a police inspector."

Yip, who left Jockey Club Ti-I College after finishing Form Four, said she was not seeking a degree just for the sake of it. Courses about nutrition and pain education help athletes boost performance.

She is taking three courses this semester and hopes to finish the degree in two years while continuing her athletic career.

Another of the six, Samuel Leung Ching-yin, who won bronze in the 12th Asia Triathlon Championships, said he had noticed that more athletes were seeking tertiary education to prepare themselves for the future.