Dare to dream, brave trio tell HK youngsters

Hong Kong's table tennis medal heroes hope showings in Tokyo will help convince parents their kids should be allowed to pursue their dreams of being professional athletes.

All three players came from top girls' schools - Doo Hoi-kem graduated from Heep Yunn School and Lee Ho-ching and Minnie Soo Wai-yam attended Diocesan Girls' School - before the latter two dropped out to train and become professionals.

Lee said it was a big dilemma whether to switch from being a student to a pro athlete, and she hopes the bronze medal win will encourage more students on the difficult path.

"Hong Kong students have to give up a lot to become full-time athletes as parents and teenagers all worry that athletes cannot make a living," Lee said. "Yet with perseverance and self-belief the outcome can surprise you."

Doo encouraged young athletes to be bold, noting that "resources and conditions for Hong Kong athletes have been improved massively."

With the "fantastic training environment at the Hong Kong Sports Institute," she added, young athletes should "give it a shot when it comes to something they like."

Lee, 28, graduated from St Rose of Lima's School and went on to study at DGS. But she dropped out in 2008, aiming to become a professional athlete.

She also participated in the London 2012 and the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Soo, 23, decided she wanted to drop out when in secondary three despite being in a top school. The daughter of Soo Chun-wah, who was in the Hong Kong table tennis team, she started learning how to play when 3 1/2 years old and received formal training at five years of age. At 10 she was in the Hong Kong youth team.

Soo beat China's Ding Ning 3-0 in the World Team Table Tennis Championships in 2018 - one of her great matches.

As for 24-year-old Doo, in 2014 she was ranked as world No 1 among players under 18. That year also saw her win a singles' silver medal at the Nanjing Youth Olympics.

At Rio 2016 Doo teamed up with Lee and Tie Ya-na in the women's team event. They lost to Germany in the quarter-finals.