Hong Kong’s sporting stars of future recognised as HKSSA awards return with fanfare
- A S Watson Group Hong Kong Student Sports Awards hold physical ceremony for first time in three years, with 1,000 people present at Fortune Metropolis mall
- ‘I’m glad to see such a large event can be held to show people that it’s time to get back to normal,’ says Medal of Honour recipient Daniel Chan Ho-yuen
Hong Kong’s future sporting stars were recognised on Friday, as the city’s leading student sports awards ceremony returned with plenty of fanfare.
The A S Watson Group Hong Kong Student Sports Awards (HKSSA) gave out prizes to 850 student athletes at the Fortune Metropolis mall in Kowloon.
The HKSSA awards, which have recognised outstanding student-athletes in primary, secondary, and special schools since 2005, had not held a physical presentation for the last three years because of the 2019 anti-government protests and the pandemic.
Daniel Chan Ho-yuen – a bronze medallist in wheelchair badminton at the Tokyo Paralympics, and recipient of the Medal of Honour award in the government’s Honours List announced this week, was one of the presenters on Friday, and was pleased to see the return of a physical ceremony.
“I’m glad to see that such a large event can be held in a mall to show people that it’s time to get back to normal,” said 37-year-old Chan, who will travel to Thailand for an international para-badminton tournament in mid-August as he builds towards the World Championships in November.
“I think student-athletes are happy to get their certificates in physical form rather than on Zoom.”
