Fourteen year-old Kelvin Lam (Tennis) was one of three athletes to receive the 2008 HKSI Outstanding Junior Athlete Award (1st quarter), it was announced at the official presentation ceremony on Wednesday. The objective of this scheme is to recognize as well as encourage continued sporting excellence from Hong Kong's top junior athletes in both local and international competitions.
Since its initiation in 1999, Yu Hiu Tung and Zhang Ling were the only tennis players to have won this award.
The other two outstanding recipients of this award for this quarter were Wong Wing Ki (Badminton) and Au Wing Chi (Squash), who is now a six-time winner of this award.
Kelvin Lam is currently the No. 1-ranked player in the B14U age group in Hong Kong, and he has held that position since assuming the top spot in June 2007.
His first taste of organized tennis began with the regional squads in the Shatin area under the HKTA's Junior Development Programme in 2003. He has since improved progressively, jumping from the Yuen Wo Road Tennis Centre to the Talent Group before arriving at the National Training Squad (NTS) approximately 12 months ago.
In overseas competition, the DBS student came third overall at this year's ITF 14U Asian Junior Championships (Group 1) where he made successive semifinal appearances in the two-week event, before succumbing to the eventual winners, Ronit Bisht (Week 1) and Digvijay Singh (Week 2), on both occasions.
Following both setbacks, however, Kelvin Lam managed to regroup in time to win the 3rd place playoff. At the end of Week 1, the HK rep went on to beat Japanese sixth seed, Koki Takada, 6-3, 2-6, 6-0, to claim third spot. He then repeated that fine performance the following week when he defeated Korea's Jeong Yong-Joo, 6-7(0), 6-2, 6-3, to secure another third place playoff win.
Similar to the exploits of Ryan Cheung and Justin To, who were both invited to join the ITF/ATF Asian 14 & Under Team to Europe in 2005 and 2007 respectively following their fourth place finishes, Kelvin Lam will also be joining other leading players on this year's ITF/ATF Asian 14 & Under Team to Europe.
As the territory's No. 1 singles player during the World Junior Tennis Asia/Oceania Qualifying earlier in April, Kelvin Lam succeeded in anchoring the Boys' 14U team to a fifth place finish – the best result since Martin Sayer led Team HK to third place back in 2001.
Earlier this month, Kelvin Lam also doubled up as the number two singles player on the 16U Junior Davis Cup team that beat Indonesia to place 11th overall at this year's Regional Qualifying in India.
In local competition last year, Kelvin Lam beat Lui Shing Fung, the top-ranked player in the B16U age group, to win the 2007 CRC Open School Boys' title but lost to the same opponent in the B16 final at the HK National Junior Tennis Championships earlier this March.
This award is presented by the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) on a quarterly basis together with support from the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC) and the Hong Kong Sports Press Association (HKSPA). The respective winners will each receive a small cash prize of $2,500, sports gear vouchers worth $2,500, in addition to a Certificate of Merit as form of inducement to motivate and encourage the athletes' unremitting strive for further sporting excellence.
Since the Hong Kong Sports Development Board (HKSDB) first initiated the award scheme 9 years ago, Kelvin Lam is the third athlete from the sport of tennis, and the first since Zhang Ling in the first quarter of 2007, to claim this accolade.
That year, Zhang Ling won back-to-back Grade 1 events on the ITF World Junior Circuit when she captured the Chief Minister's Cup in Malaysia and then the Mitsubishi-Lancer in the Philippines the following week.
However, the first tennis representative to lay hands on the HKSI Outstanding Junior Athlete Award was Yu Hiu Tung, who actually claimed it twice – in the 3rd quarter of 2000 and again in the 4th quarter of 2002 – with the latter one obviously backed by his runner-up finish in the boys' singles to Brendan Evans at the then Grade 2 Hong Kong Open Junior Championships.
Although Jack Hui and Brian Hung won the doubles that same year, Yu Hiu Tung (2002) and Sven Koehler (1992) remain the only players from HK to have progressed to that stage of the tournament in the boys' singles event.
Notable non-tennis athletes to win the HKSI Outstanding Junior Athlete Award over the years include 2001 East Asian Games double gold medalist Wu Siu Hong (Tenpin Bowling) and 2002 Asian Games silver and bronze medalist Law Hiu Fung (Rowing).
Past nominees of the HKSI Outstanding Junior Athlete Award were also issued with Certificates of Merit as a token of appreciation for their hard work and good performances nonetheless. From the sport of tennis, these include Martin Sayer (2005), Ronald Chow (2004), and Venise Chan (2004 & 2005).
The judging panel of this year's HKSI Outstanding Junior Athlete Award consisted of Mrs. Vivien Fung, JP (Vice-President of SF&OC), Mr. Chu Hoi Kun (Executive Committee Chairman of the HKSP), and Ms. Margaret Siu (Head, Coaching Support Services of HKSI).
For additional information regarding the HKSI Outstanding Junior Athlete Award, its criteria for nomination and eligibility & regulations, etc, please visit the Sports Institute's official website, www.hksi.org.hk.
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