Three is a joy for Annie
Teenage stars Annie Au Wing-chi and Zhang Ling have won prestigious awards for their sporting achievements this year.
They received the Outstanding Junior Athlete Awards for the first quarter of 2007, presented by the Hong Kong Sports Institute in Sha Tin.
Annie, 18, won a gold medal in the women's individual event at the Hoe Hin White Flower Ointment Asian Junior Squash Championships held in February. The competition, hosted by Hong Kong, attracted 46 promising players from nine countries, including Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines.
'I'm pleased to have won the award three times and would like to thank the coaches and teammates who have helped me over the years,' Annie said. She was also awarded the honour for the first quarters of 2004 and 2005.
Annie started playing squash seriously after participating in the Searching for New Sport Stars Programme in 2001. She represented Hong Kong for the first time at the Asian Junior Championships two years later, winning a bronze medal in the team event.
In 2005, she paired up with Joey Chan Ho-ling, Chiu Ka-kei and Leung Shin-nga to win a gold medal at the Women's World Junior Team Championships in Belgium.
Aspiring tennis star Ling, 17, clinched a gold medal in the women's singles and a silver in the doubles at the Chief Minister's Cup ITF - Group 1 in Malaysia earlier this year. She added another gold in the women's singles at the 18th Mitsubishi-Lancer International Junior Championships - Group 1 in the Philippines.
This is the first time she has won the Outstanding Junior Athlete award.
Ling took up tennis aged nine under the guidance of her parents and started formal training three years later. She first represented Hong Kong in 2005.
'The awards scheme is a morale booster to local junior athletes since we know all our hard work and effort would be recognised,' she said. 'There's still a long way to go, and I would work harder in the future. Hopefully I can reach the top 30 in the world rankings.'
Each of the two winners received a HK$2,500 cash prize, a sports gear voucher worth HK$2,500 and a certificate at a presentation ceremony at Cornwall Street Park last Friday.
Another five athletes - Chan Hung-yung and Tse Ying-suet (badminton), Joey Chan (squash), and Lo Ching-hin and Hui Wai-sum (triathlon) - each received a certificate of merit in recognition of their outstanding performances.
