Hard road for crowd-funded runner
Tsui Chi-kin hopes to realise his dream of qualifying for Jakarta 2018
Thanks to the generosity of a group of runners, Hong Kong's top-ranked marathon runner Hard Tsui Chi-kin has set his sights on qualifying for the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
The 25-year-old Tsui just quit his job as a surveying assistant at a construction site to train full-time for the next two years as he hopes to represent Hong Kong at the Games in Jakarta.
He has a number of people who believe in his talent with more than 10 members of the Road Runner Athletic Club contributing HK$400,000 towards a fund, so he can devote his time and energy into achieving his dream.
Watch: SCMP Originals - Interview with Hong Kong's top marathon runner Hard Tsui Chi-kin.
Tsui said the financial backing gave him "a sense of security" as he was not part of the Hong Kong squad and received no support.
The campaign was initiated by a club member who donated the largest sum of the money, while other individuals including Sunny Chau Kwai-sun, who is Tsui's coach, also contributed.
May Tse Fung-yee, 59, a retired IT company director, said she was more than willing to help Tsui after seeing his talent and would be willing to offer more support.
"In Hong Kong athletes don't get enough support, and their achievements are not well-recognised," said Tse. "Therefore when we have a talented runner, it is worth helping him train on a full-time basis.
