Talent Development Scholarship

I am a windsurfing athlete.

I remember when I was eight, my parents suggested several activities for my summer vacation – running, football and windsurfing.  I cannot explain why I always hate land sports and find them uninteresting.  On the contrary, water sports seem to be fun.

In the end, I went for windsurfing which I like most.  Throughout the year, whether it is a sunny, rainy, windy or windless day, one must set sail.  At first, I was not used to this.  Without a clue how to manoeuvre the sail and board according to the wind, there was only speed in my mind.  When it was windy, I could control the sail and board well, and everything went smoothly.  That was great fun.  However, when it was windless, pumping was really hard work and not something to be enjoyed.  I then started to hate windsurfing.  Fortunately, my parents kept encouraging me to cope with this.  Though I had an aversion to pumping from the outset, repeated practice strengthened my physical constitution, which in turn boosted my confidence in handling the sail and board.

I was selected as a member of the Hong Kong team in the end of 2014.  I was overjoyed because that meant I would receive more professional training.  But my joy subsided very soon.  A week before joining the team, I had an accident during practice and this resulted in bone fractures in my right ankle and calf.  I underestimated the severity until I saw broken bones on the X-ray.  I used to have busy weekends, but now exercising was out of the question.  Without any practice for several months, I was really depressed.

Fortunately, excellent medical staff, peers from school, team members and my parents offered me support during my recovery.  The plaster cast was removed two and a half months after the accident.  Six to seven weeks later, the fractures were healed by almost 90%.  When the doctor told me that I could resume watersports, the excitement was beyond expression.

Windsurfing was no longer the same kind of experience.  When it was windy, I was keen to go but at the same time afraid of getting injured again.  My feelings were mixed.  After several months of psychological adjustment, I gradually overcame my internal barriers.  Repeated practice enabled me to proceed from local competitions to qualifying competitions and then overseas competitions.  The change and development was noticeable and my parents were very happy witnessing that.  I can still recall my debut in overseas competitions.  At first, I thought that good results would be achieved.  But in the end, with inconsistent performance in different races, the total score was not very pleasing.  Subsequent overseas competitions each had much to inspire me.  “He that travels much knows much” is well said indeed.  Going aboard to compete not only broadened my horizon, but also made me realise how hard it was to get a place on the world stage.  Last year, steady performance won me a bronze medal at the Asian Windsurfing Championships held in Taiwan.  This was tremendous encouragement indeed.  I will continue to train hard and study hard at the same time.  It is my hope that there will be good progress in both sports and study.

Even though the road ahead is tough, I firmly believe that perseverance will enable me to overcome all challenges, and my dream will be fulfilled one day!