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The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is immensely grateful to the Lee Shau Kee Foundation for the generous gift of HK$7.2 million to set up the “HKU Lee Shau Kee Top Athletes Scholarship” to support outstanding emerging and active athletes in pursuit of excellence in both sports and academic studies.

A presentation ceremony was held today (August 1) to award six outstanding athletes with the HKU Lee Shau Kee Top Athletes Scholarship. Each athlete will receive HK$400,000 for their academic and sports career development.

The six recipients of the Scholarship have already achieved outstanding accomplishments in their respective sports fields. They will begin their studies at HKU in the academic year 2022/23. Studying Business Administration are Coleman Wong (tennis), Russell Williams Aylsworth (sailing), Sandy Choi (sailing) and Lawrence Ng (fencing). Adrian Yung (Alpine skiing) will pursue a degree in Science, and Nicholas Choi (fencing) will undertake a Bachelor of Arts.

The presentation ceremony was attended by Dr Martin Lee, Chairman of Henderson Land Group; Dr Colin Lam, Vice Chairman of Henderson Land Group; Professor Richard Wong, Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, HKU; Professor Bennett Yim, Director of Undergraduate Admissions and International Student Exchange, HKU; and the six athletes.

Dr Martin Lee said: “My heartfelt congratulations to these six athlete awardees, who have achieved remarkable success in their own fields and have a bright, limitless future ahead of them. Through the ‘HKU Lee Shau Kee Top Athletes Scholarship’, I hope to do my part to support our top sporting talents and motivate them to pursue their dreams and maintain a good balance between sports and academics. May the athletes keep working hard and take their achievements to the next level! It is my hope that the business sector and the broader society will go a step further in supporting our local athletes so that they will get to shine on the international sporting stage and bring home more glory.”

Professor Richard Wong said: “Thank you for the generous support from the Lee Shau Kee Foundation throughout the years. The ‘HKU Lee Shau Kee Top Athletes Scholarship’ can support the athlete scholars to pursue their academic aspirations at HKU as well as sports career development.”

Delighted to welcome the athletes to join the HKU family, Professor Bennett Yim said: “HKU will continue to support our student-athletes in many ways and make flexible arrangements to support their study, intensive competition, and training schedule. We hope to help them achieve both their academic and athletic aspirations simultaneously.”

Coleman Wong, who has won the US Open Boys’ doubles in 2021 and the Australian Open Boys’ Doubles in 2022, said: “The Scheme helps me a lot because I use a lot of time to travel all over the world and it can balance my tennis career and academics.” Coleman will use the scholarship fund for his expenses in overseas tournaments. He is eyeing a top-350 ranking, and targets to become an Olympian at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Adrian Yung was the first men’s skier to represent Hong Kong at an Olympic Games when he participated in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. He considers Hong Kong the best place to pursue his interest in nutritional science and other scientific fields. “I am able to study a relevant and powerful topic that has an impact on everyday life for everyone in the city, and studying this subject can make me best equipped to do my part in improving the quality of life for the people of Hong Kong.” He is currently concentrating on improving his skiing, and pushing towards the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics in 2026.

Lawrence Ng has already represented Hong Kong at the Olympics and is striving to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. In the next few years, he hopes to break his personal record and rank higher in the International Fencing Federation ranking while studying the Bachelor of Business Administration programme. “The programme will allow me to understand more about how to pursue a career in entrepreneurship, innovation, finance, human resource management, information systems, analytics, or marketing”, Lawrence said.

Following in the footsteps of his elder sister, who is an HKU alumna, Nicholas Choi will undertake a Bachelor of Arts in the academic year 2022/23. He said: “My reason for choosing this programme is that it is related to what I do other than being an athlete.” He hopes to be a successful star athlete who can have a positive influence on the next generation. He aims to represent Hong Kong again at the 2024 Olympic Games.

Sandy Choi was attracted to join the HKU family as she believes it will provide her with an ideal platform to balance studies and sports. She said: “I am interested in business, and the dynamic business world is similar to the sports environment”. Sandy’s ultimate goal is to represent Hong Kong at the Asian Games and win a medal in sailing.

Russell Williams Aylsworth is looking forward to pursuing his interest in business and he believes business suits him as an athlete. “HKU Business School is considered one of the top schools in Hong Kong and the world, and the flexibility of the scheme gives me the ability to compete at my highest levels as an athlete while still getting a degree.” Russell said. He aims to win a medal at the Asian Games and compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

HKU launched the “Top Athletes Direct Admission Scheme” from the start of the academic year 2022/23 to encourage outstanding athletes to join the University, with competitive admissions mainly based on sports achievements. HKU will provide support to the athletes, including personal academic advice, flexible learning arrangements, counselling, and physical training. The six athletes awarded the HKU Lee Shau Kee Top Athletes Scholarship are among the top athletes admitted to the University this year. Each will receive a scholarship of HK$400,000 to support their academic aspirations and international exchange opportunities, as well as sports career development.

For media enquiries, please contact:
HKU Communications and Public Affairs Office

Ms Melanie Wan
Tel: 2859 2600 / Email: melwkwan@hku.hk

Ms Jaymee Ng
Tel: 3910 3612 / Email: ngjaymee@hku.hk

Mr Kenneth Choi
Tel: 2859 2607/ Email: khkchoi@hku.hk