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Twelve promising young athletes were awarded Outstanding Junior Athlete Awards (OJAA) for the 3^rd quarter of 2011 during the Prize Presentation Ceremony held today (9 November) at the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI). The OJAA is sponsored by ZESPRI^®, the world's largest exporter of a premium brand of New Zealand kiwifruit.

Officiating guests at today's presentation include Dr Trisha Leahy, Chief Executive of the HKSI; Tony Yue, Vice President of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC); Kenneth Fok, Honorary Deputy Secretary General of the SF&OC; and Kwok Tsz-lung, committee member of the Hong Kong Sports Press Association (HKSPA).

Twelve outstanding athletes include Ng Ka-fung (athletics), Chow Cham-ho and Shum Pak-wai (karatedo), Choi Uen-shan, Ho Ka-po, Ho Tze-lok and Lee Ka-yi (squash), Lee Chun-ting (windsurfing), Chan Cheuk-lam and Lee Kin-fai (wushu), Au Kai-lun (swimming, Hong Kong Sports Association for the Mentally Handicapped, HKSAM) and Mok Chi-sing (table tennis, HKSAM).

Ng Ka-fung who had just won the men's 100m at the Xtep Hong Kong Athletics League 2011 was awarded the OJAA for his silver medal achievement in the men's 4x100m at the 19th Asian Athletics Championships in July. Ng is pleased to see his great improvement since he started full-time training in April. He said, "I'm so happy that my effort is well recognised, the Award will surely boost my confidence for getting an 'entrance ticket' at the London 2012 Olympics."

Having joined the Hong Kong squad since 2009, karatedo athletes Chow Cham-ho and Shum Pak-wai were debut winners, they each grabbed a bronze medal in the cadet male kata and junior female kumite - 48kg respectively at the 10^th AKF Senior Championship & 11^th AKF Junior & Cadet Karate Championship. Shum said, "I would like to give thanks to my parents, coach and all the people in the HKSI who have been supporting me in my training; also my gratitude to my school principal and teachers who help me strike a good balance between study and training. I hope to get more medals for Hong Kong in the future."

The Award also went to the squash team which comprised Choi Uen-shan, Ho Ka-po, Ho Tze-lok and Lee Ka-yi for winning a bronze medal in the women's team at the 14^th World Women Junior Squash Championships in the USA. The girls whom aged between 15-17, were greatly moved by the team spirit they built up at the competition. Ho Tze-lok said, "We fought extremely hard and ended up with a narrow 2-1 win against India. We did make it and we were so excited that one of us even burst into tears." The four girls have already set their goal at the next Asian and World Junior Championships.

Windsurfer Lee Chun-ting is being honoured the title again by his good performance in the Techno 293 Boys under 17 at the 2011 Techno 293 World Championships. "Thanks to ZESPRI^® for recognising our effort through its sponsorship and initiative in arranging a sport and cultural tour for awardees. I hope to receive this Award again by winning more medals in the future," Lee said.

Wushu athletes Chan Cheuk-lam and Lee Kin-fai, both represented Hong Kong for the first time to compete in the 6^th Asian Junior Wushu Championships in August, returned home with excellent results. Chan won 2 gold medals in the women's 24 forms taijiquan B and 32 forms taijijian B while Lee clinched 2 gold medals in men's duilian and nanquan A; and a silver in the men's nandao A. Chan highly treasures each training opportunity she gets since an injury in 2008 which made her suspend training for two months. She grinned and said, "I am grateful to Acting Head Coach Wong Chi-kwong, ex-head coach Yu Liguang and coach Lam Hong-kwai for their guidance. Also, I would like to thank my family and teammates for their support. I have set my goal at the 2012 Hong Kong Open Wushu Championships, targeting to win gold medals in the 42 forms taijiquan and taijijian."

Finalising the list of OJAA award winners were table tennis player Mok Chi-sing and swimmer Au Kai-lun from the HKSAM. Mok got a gold medal in the mixed doubles (table tennis) while Au pocketed 2 gold medals in the 200m butterfly and 400m individual medley respectively at the 3^rd INAS-FID Global Games. Both of them have been representing Hong Kong since 2007. Now they are fighting hard to win a berth at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

In addition, Ng Ka-long, Chang Tak-ching and Tam Chun-hei (badminton), Fung Chun-hin (billiard sports), Ma Che-yan and Man Ho-long (finswimming), Chan Tsz-ching (golf), Kam Man-lok and Vanessa Wong (roller sports), Choi Yan-yin and Perry Wong (triathlon) were awarded Certificates of Merit for this quarter.

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.

List of Awardees for the 3^rd Quarter of 2011 (PDF)