Triple treat of accolades for Cheung and Haughey

For third year in a row, pair headline the Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards

Swimming sensation Siobhan Haughey and Tokyo Olympic golden fencing star Cheung Ka-long once again swept aside the competition last night, this time crowned “best of the best” at the Cathay Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards for the third year in a row.

More than 100 Hong Kong athletes were nominated for the awards at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, with five male and five female athletes chosen, with one from each being crowned the star of the stars.

It was the fifth time Cheung and Haughey had featured among the top five and the third consecutive year winning the top prize.

Haughey won partly thanks to her 200-metres freestyle gold at the world championships in February, the first time a Hong Kong swimmer has ever won a world title. “It’s such an honour to win, especially star of the stars because we have so many amazing athletes in Hong Kong,” Haughey said.

“I think some of the highlights from the past 12 months would be Asian Games, winning the gold medals and also breaking the Asian record in the 100m free.”

Cheung won gold at the World University Games and the Asian Games last year, while also grabbing bronze in team foil events in Hangzhou and at the World Championships and the Asian Championships.

“The best moment [of 2023] for me was winning the team bronze at the world championships,” Cheung said. “In the beginning, we just aimed for the

Olympic qualification, but we failed ... but after that world championship medal, everything changed and it gave us hope that we can do it.”

Asian Games gold medallist golfer Taichi Kho, tennis ace Coleman Wong Chak-lam, table tennis player Wong Chun-ting and para-badminton player Chu Man-kai were also named sports stars in the men’s award.

For the women, snooker’s Ng On-yee, fencer Vivian Kong Manwai, karate world No 1 Grace Lau Mo-sheung and table tennis player Doo Hoi-kem were also honoured.

Kong’s prize marks the fifth year in a row she has featured in the best women’s award, having won it outright in 2019.

The Hong Kong men’s football team, who in January made a historic first appearance at the Asian Cup since 1968, won the award for team-only sport.

In sports combination, the badminton mixed doubles duo of Tang Chun-man and Tse Yingsuet were winners – their fourth award in as many years. The men’s foil fencing team of Cheung, Ryan Choi Chun-yin, Leung Chin-yu, and Yeung Chi-ka, featured for the first time since 2019.

Asian Games gold medallist rowers Lam San-tung and Wong Wai-chun were also honoured.