Jason Gunawan crowned youngest-ever Hong Kong men’s badminton champion at 16
- The men’s singles champion beat top player Angus Ng in the semi-finals before overcoming Chan Yin-chak in a final that went to three sets
- Gunawan cut short his studies three months ago to become a full-time athlete so that he could return to training amid the pandemic
Jason Gunawan became the youngest-ever men’s singles champion at the annual Hong Kong badminton championships at Kowloon Park Sports Centre on Sunday, thanks partly to his decision to turn to full-time training amid the pandemic.
Just three months after cutting short his secondary school studies to pursue a full-time sporting career at the Sports Institute, the 16-year-old teenager reigned supreme in the three-game final against Chan Yin-chak, winning 21-19, 17-21, 21-13 to put himself in the record books.
The previous day in the semi-finals, Gunawan pulled off a surprise victory by knocking out Hong Kong number one Angus Ng Ka-long 23-21, 21-14 to reach the title match. Chan also eliminated another top Hong Kong player, Lee Cheuk-yiu, in the second round.
“He would not be able to accomplish this without his decision to turn full-time so that he could return to training in August,” said badminton head coach Tim He Ye-ming. “He is talented player, no doubt about that as you can tell from the way he won the title. He is definitely in a class of his own for his age [group] but Gunawan still has to prove himself when he competes in senior competitions which will be played at a much higher level.”
When the Sports Institute shut down in March because of the pandemic, Gunawan, a form four student at the Diocesan Boys’ School, was forced to stop training because only full-time athletes were allowed to stay at the Fo Tan complex.