Youngest ever nominee for junior awards announced

Table tennis player Chiu Chung-hei has become the youngest ever nominee for the Hong Kong Sports Institute's quarterly Outstanding Junior Awards.

The 11-year-old student at La Salle Primary School will be one of 17 hopefuls attending today's Second Quarter presentation at the Sports Institute.

Two or three winners will be selected from the list and Chiu is a strong contender to pick up one of the cash prizes of $2,500, a sports gear voucher worth $2,500, and a certificate of merit.

Chiu beat some of the best young players in China when he placed first in the under-11 singles category at the National Junior Table Tennis Competition in May.

'He is an outstanding talent who has the support of his parents,' said Amy Chan Lim-chee, athlete affairs manager at the Sports Institute.

Chiu was recently a winner at the 2005 All Hong Kong Jing Ying Outstanding Athlete Awards (Primary category).

'He is a smart boy, who is also good academically. I think he has a very bright future,' said Chan.

Five of the other nominated athletes have won the quarterly award before. They are badminton players Wong Wai-hong and Yip Pui-yin, squash ace Annie Au Wing-chi, windsurfer Ma Kwok-po, and swimmer with an intellectual disability Leung Shu-hang.

Other athletes in the list include sprinters Tang Yik-chun and Leung Hau-sze, cyclist Kwok Ho-ting, gymnasts Shek Wai-hung and Wong Hiu-ying, squash player Lee Ho-yin, tennis players Martin Sayer and Venise Chan Wing-yau, windsurfer Chan Hei-man, boccia player Ching Yu-hey, and swimmer with intellectual disability Chow Yuen-ying.

'Leung and Tang have both been performing very well for a long time, but this is the first time the Amateur Athletic Association has nominated them,' said Chan.

'Yip and Wong have been playing in the senior national squads, and have made good progress. There are many deserving nominees,' she added.

The awards scheme was introduced in 1999 in recognition of the outstanding achievements of Hong Kong's promising athletes.

The programme has been sponsored by the AS Watson Group since 2003.