Photo credit: SCMP
Recently, Albert Lau made sporting history by becoming the first race engineer from Hong Kong to win a Formula E race; a sweet victory considering it occurred in Hong Kong as well!
An integral part of Venturi’s team, the 39-year-old can be credited for contributing towards Mortara’s win and Venturi’s overall success - the Monaco-based team are lying fourth in the standings.
A memorable sporting first for both Lau and Hong Kong. With that being said, we take a look at three other Hong Kong athletes who have done us proud and achieved ‘sporting firsts’ of their own.
Photo credit: Gianluca Arrigoni
Cheung Chi-doy:
The honour of being the first Asian and Hong Kong football player to play in Europe belongs to none other than Cheung Chi-doy,
Starting his career in native Hong Kong while under the British Empire, he eventually found his way to the top flight of English football; Cheung won two caps playing for Blackpool.
Although Cheung ended his stint at Blackpool in 1962, he remains the first and only Hong Kong-born football player to have ever played for a top-flight European club. Impressive to say the least.
Photo credit: Hong Kong Golf Association
Tiffany Chan:
Hong Kong’s first ever golfer to qualify for LPGA tour did not come from a golfing family; Tiffany Chan was only introduced to the sport when her father’s friend suggested giving it a go.
Since then, Chan has been making major strides in the golfing world and is now considered the darling of Hong Kong golf.
On top of recently earning her place on the LPGA tour, Chan won the Hong Kong Ladies Open on the Ladies Asian Golf Tour and qualified for 2016 Summer Olympics. Still early in her career, Hong Kong can only hope that her journey continues onwards and upwards.
Photo credit: Snooker.org
Ng On-yee:
Professional snooker player Ng On-yee discovered her world-class talent for the game in her father’s Sham Shui Po snooker hall at the tender age of 13.
She is arguably Hong Kong’s most successful talent, having won the Ladies World Snooker Championship on three separate occasions: 2015, 2017 and 2018.
When she won her first World Snooker Championship in 2015, Ng became the first new world ladies' champion in a decade.
Ng will surely set her sights on another world title when the tournament begins again in the summer.