News

ZESPRI^®, the world’s largest exporter of a premium brand of New Zealand kiwifruit, is pleased to announce their continual sponsorship of the Outstanding Junior Athlete Awards (OJAA) for the third consecutive year in view of the positive response received from the sports sector in the past two years.  The good news was announced today (6 May) at the annual celebration for 2010 Awards and the OJAA Presentation Ceremony for the 1^st quarter of 2011.

Witnessed by Karl Kwok, Vice-President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC) who is also a Board member of the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) and Raymond Chiu, Executive Committee Vice Chairman of the Hong Kong Sports Press Association (HKSPA), Dr Trisha Leahy, Chief Executive of the HKSI and Kelvin Bezuidenhout, General Manager, Asia, ZESPRI International Limited signed a giant dummy agreement which signified the start of the collaboration in 2011.

Most 2010 OJAA recipients joined the ceremony to show their support for the Award.  Mok Uen-ying was awarded the Most Outstanding Junior Athlete in 2010 by winning 2 gold medals at the 3^rd World Junior Wushu Championships, outshone all the 2010 awardees; while badminton player Ng Ka-long, who earned the OJAA title for three times in 2010, was named the Most Promising Junior Athlete.  In addition, four athletes, including Mok Uen-ying, Wong Chun-wai, Chiu Chung-hei and Man Ka-kei, who had just returned from the New Zealand sports and cultural exchange tour in early April also shared their experience with the guests. 

Kelvin Bezuidenhout, General Manager, Asia, ZESPRI International Limited, said, “The number of athletes earning the OJAA title has increased significantly in the past two years, this proves that the junior athletes are becoming more competitive.  It is also a sound proof of the value of our sponsorship, we are delighted to sponsor the Awards again for the 3^rd consecutive year.” 

Besides, the presentation ceremony for the 1^st quarter also saw a good start for 2011 where a total of 18 athletes were awarded.  They are Cheung Ngan-yi and Lee Chun-hei and (badminton); Leung Bo-yee and Wong Tsz-chin (cycling); Chan Hiu-ching and Jackson Wang (fencing); Choy Kit-lun, Chu Ka-hei, Ho Ka-po, Ho Tze-ho, Lee Ka-yi, Tong Tsz-wing, Yeung Ho-wai and Yip Tsz-fung (squash); Doo Hoi-kem and Lee Ho-ching (table tennis); Lee Chun-ting and Ngai Wai-yan (windsurfing). 

Promising cyclists Leung Bo-yee and Wong Tsz-chin both won their debut award in this quarter.  They clinched a total of 1 gold and 2 silver medals at the 2011 Asian Championships.  Leung started cycling training in 2004 when she was just 10 years old while Wong was selected for the sport through HKSI’s “Searching for New Sport Stars” programme when he was in primary six.  “We are very excited to win the title.  This Award definitely boosts our morale to work harder in the future,” said Leung.  Wong agreed with Leung.  He further thanked his coach for guidance and said, “My next target is to get good results in the coming National Cities Games.  I’m following the training programme stipulated by my coach now and I hope to bring home more medals from the Games.”

Fencers Chan Hiu-ching and Jackson Wang each grabbed 2 gold medals in the cadet girls’ and boys’ sabre individual and team at the 2011 Asian Junior & Cadet Fencing Championships; Wang got another silver in the junior boys’ sabre team at the same competition.  “I’m flattered to receive the title as it is a recognition of my performance, it proves that persistence and endurance in training will finally pay off,” said Chan.  Wang expressed gratitude to his parents who have been supporting him for practising the sport for the past seven years.  His next target is to win medals at the Asian Junior Championships and, rank top four at both the World Junior Championships and Asian Championships in the senior category. 

The squash team is the big winner in this quarter.  The girls’ and the boys’ team each clinched 1 gold and 1 bronze medal at the 15^th Asian Junior Team Squash Championships 2011.  Yip Tsz-fung and Yeung Ho-wai thanked ZESPRI^®’s sponsorship of the Awards as commercial sponsorship is a strong recognition of the athlete’s achievement from the community at large. Both of them together with the other two awardees Ho Tze-ho and Choy Kit-lun hoped to win the title again by their outstanding performance at the coming Milo All Stars Junior Open.

All the four squash girl players, Chu Ka-hei, Ho Ka-po, Lee Ka-yi and Tong Tsz-wing, started playing the sport when they were in primary school.  Under a systematic and persistent training over the years, they have already built up a strong team spirit and connection which is essential for team events.  They will participate in the Asian Junior Championship next month in Jordan.  Ho said, “I hope we can perform well in the competition again.  But no matter what, it is also an invaluable opportunity for us to culminate experience from major competitions.”

Windsurfer Ngai Wai-yan was named the OJAA for the first time by winning 1 silver medal in the U17 Youth Girls Techno 293 at the SIM 30^th Singapore Open Asian Windsurfing Championship 2011.  Ngai fell in love with the sport after attending a summer course in 2004.  “Never give up and strive for excellence is my little secret for success,” said Ngai who managed to overcome her ankle injury which had stopped her from training for almost a month.

In addition, triathletes Choi Yan-yin and Perry Wong who also had excellent performance in the 1^st quarter of 2011 were awarded Certificate of Merit.

The ZESPRI^® Outstanding Junior Athlete Awards is organised by the HKSI and sponsored by ZESPRI^®, with support from the SF&OC and the HKSPA.  They recognise the achievements of outstanding local junior athletes under the age of 19 on a quarterly basis.  Each recipient is presented with a cash prize of HK$2,500, a voucher worth HK$2,500 and a certificate.