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At a prize presentation for the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) Outstanding Junior Athlete Awards held at the HKSI today (Thursday), fencer Fong Yi-tak, squash player Au Wing-chi, taekwondo player Chan Ngai-yeung and mentally handicapped swimmer Tang Suk-man were named recipients of the Award for the third quarter, 2007 in recognition of their outstanding performance.

At 17, Fong Yi-tak earned her first outstanding junior athlete title with a total of three medals winning at the Asian Junior & Cadet Fencing Championships held in Kazakhstan in July, including a silver medal in the women's sabre cadet, a bronze medal in the women's sabre junior as well as a silver medal in the women's sabre team.

"I'm really happy to have been selected for the title. In any case, I think it is a good scheme as it recognises the effort of juniors and motivates us to achieve our goals," said the delighted Fong, a fifth former at the Helen Liang Memorial Secondary School (Shatin).

The gifted fencer started the sport after being identified through the HKSI's Searching for New Sport Stars programme in 2004. Despite her short spell with the sport, the fast-improving Fong has already become a key member of the Hong Kong junior squad. Fong has now set her sights on the forthcoming World Junior Championships. "I hope I could enter the last 16 of the Championships and I would work harder to achieve my goal," she said.

18-year-old Au Wing-chi won a bronze medal in the women's singles at the World Junior Women's Squash Championships 2007 held in August in Hong Kong . This has been the fourth time Au got the Award. "I'm very happy and a little surprised to win the Award as I know many junior athletes also did very well during that period," said Au at the presentation.

The young player has been identified to join the sport after participating in the Searching for New Sport Stars programme in 2001, and first represented Hong Kong to participate in the Asian Junior Championships two years later and won a bronze medal in team's event. In 2005, she paired up with Chan Ho-ling, Chiu Ka-kei and Leung Shin-nga to win a gold medal at the Women's World Junior Team Championships held in Belgium , a historical world junior title for Hong Kong squash.

17-year-old taekwondo player Chan Ngai-yeung snatched a bronze medal in the men's middle weight category at the 4^th Asian Junior Championships held in Amman , Jordan in August. The event attracted a strong field of leading juniors from 14 countries and cities in Asia .

"The Awards is a big recognition and morale booster to local junior athletes as we know that all our hard work and effort would be recognised," said Chan, who first played the sport at primary one and joined Hong Kong team to undergo formal training last year.

Taiwanese athlete Chu Mu-yen, the Athens Olympics gold medallist in taekwondo, was the junior's idol and learning model. "Although it is still a long way to go, I will work harder in future and continue to wins medal for Hong Kong . I believe that I can be as successful as Chu eventually," said Chan.

Competing in the INAS-FID World Swimming Championships held in August, 18-year-old Tang Suk-man won a gold medal in the women's 4x50m medley relay and silver medals in the 50m backstroke, 4x50m freestyle relay, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay.

Tang joined the school swimming class at nine and underwent formal training in 1998. She then first represented Hong Kong in the 5^th New Zealand Special Olympics National Games three years later when she pulled off a major surprise to win a gold medal in the 100m freestyle, a silver medal in the 100m individual medley and a bronze medal in the 50m butterfly in her international debut.

"I'm so glad to have won the outstanding junior athlete title. Winning the award will definitely boost my confidence and I'll continue to work hard in the future to improve my standard. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my coach and the Hong Kong Sports Association for the Mentally Handicapped who has been backing me to pursue my sporting dream over the years," said the up-and-coming swimmer.

Each recipient received a cash prize of HK$2,500, sports gears voucher worth HK$2,500 and a certificate. In addition, fencer Au Sin-ying, golfer Yan Sibo, water ski athlete Cheng Wai-nam and windsurfer Chan Hei-man were each presented a certificate of merit to recognise their outstanding performance.

Presented by the HKSI with the support from the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China and the Hong Kong Sports Press Association, the Awards scheme aims to recognise the achievement of local junior athletes under the age of 19 on a quarterly basis.