Golden girls ready to take on the world
The Hong Kong girls' squash team are ready to take on the best young players in the world. This is the message from the golden girls, following their stunning triumph at the Asian Junior Championships in Chennai, India, last weekend.
The SAR team, comprising Chiu Ka-kei, Joey Chan Ho-ling, Annie Au Wing-chi and Leung Shin-nga, beat Malaysia 2-0 in the final to take the regional title for the first time since 1995.
The Hong Kong boys - Anson Kwong Yu-shun, Max Lee Ho-yin, Leo Au Chun-ming and Chiu Ho-fai - reached the semi-finals and then won the third-place play-off, defeating the hosts 2-1, to clinch the bronze.
The girls' latest performance shows they are going to be a formidable force at the World Junior Championships in Belgium this summer.
'With the confidence in the team after this result, I think we can aim for a top-four place in Belgium,' said Hong Kong junior team coach Dick Leung.
The last time Hong Kong played in the World Juniors, in Egypt two years ago, they were placed seventh.
Now, with more experience and success under their belts, the girls should do better.
'It was an excellent performance,' said Leung. 'They really thought about how they could defeat their opponents [after having played them the week before in the individual contest].'
In the individual competition, Annie - a Jockey Club Ti-I College student - took the silver medal, losing to India's Joshana Chinappa in the final. Joey and Ka-kei reached the quarter-finals, while Shin-nga lost in the second round.
All three lost to Malaysian players, making their subsequent team victory over the same opponents more impressive. Hong Kong players achieved outstanding results - three gold medals and a bronze - at the prestigious Scottish Junior Open Squash Championships in Edinburgh last December.
Then they produced another notable performance, winning two bronze and a silver medal at the highly rated British Junior Squash Open in Sheffield last month.
The good results bode well for the future.