Opinion | Left Field: Young Hong Kong stars have what it takes
Cricketer Anshuman Rath and swimmer Siobhan Haughey are like a breath of fresh air and give us all hope for the future
They were born five days apart, and if you believe in the stars, perhaps this has something to do with it. But both Anshuman Rath and Siobhan Haughey give hope that the future will be bright and full of joy for Hong Kong. The two teenagers come from different backgrounds and play different sports. Yet they evoked the same feeling of optimism this week and this bodes well for their individual codes.
While I cannot bracket them as grandly as controversial author Salman Rushdie did with his Midnight's Children - a book about children born on the stroke of midnight when India gained independence - Rath and Haughey were born in 1997, just a few months after our own handover.
Swimmer Haughey is the elder of the two, born on Halloween (October 31), while cricketer Rath was born November 5, 17 years ago. They symbolise the vitality of youth and lift the spirits of everyone who comes in touch with them. I know this first hand.
They symbolise the vitality of youth and lift the spirits of everyone who comes in touch with them
Rath, from afar, has been a shining beacon as Hong Kong crumbled against Papua New Guinea in two one-day international matches in Townsville, Australia. Watching the elegant left-hander make his ODI debut on the internet gave me the feeling this teenager has what it takes to become a significant cog in the team as cricket looks ahead to crucial fixtures. Hong Kong's cricketers are the city's highest-ranked team in world sport. They are ranked 15th if their showing at the ICC World Cup qualifiers this year in New Zealand is taken into account - behind the 10 test-playing nations, and Ireland, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates and Scotland.
They were unlucky not to make it to the World Cup (50 overs) in Australia and New Zealand next year, being pipped by Scotland who clinched the last and 14th berth when they defeated Kenya with three balls to spare. At one stage it looked as if Hong Kong were heading for their first World Cup with the Scots struggling in the run chase but they somehow survived.
Yet, our performance in those qualifiers raised our stock in world cricket and today we are one of the top six associate countries in the world and will play in the Intercontinental Cup - four day matches - which is one tier below test matches, starting next year. Rath wasn't around at the start of the year but has now emerged as a possible opening batsman after a fine half-century in only his second ODI against PNG.
He goes to Harrow, one of England's top boarding schools, and was given permission by the headmaster to fly around the world to join his teammates. He had to take his school books and study.