Olympian Edgar Cheung among six admitted to HKBU on talented athletes program

Olympics fencing gold medalist Edgar Cheung Ka-long is among six elite athletes admitted to Hong Kong Baptist University on its Talented Athletes Direct Admission Scheme. 

The other five who will join Cheung to study in the Physical Education & Recreation Management program are rugby player Shanna Forrest, table tennis player Kwan Man-ho, swimmer Kwok Chun-hei, Wushu athlete Lau Chi-lung, and Shak Kam-ching from athletics. 

HKBU said it will provide personal support and flexible class arrangements for the six athletes to cope with their training and competition schedules. 

The school will also extend the length of the program for them to strive for excellence on the field and to enjoy their school lives simultaneously. 

To further step up support for outstanding student-athletes, the University Grants Committee (UGC) has launched the Student-Athlete Learning Support and Admission Scheme to support outstanding athletes who aspire to pursue dual-track career developments in the eight UGC-funded universities from the year 2022/23 to 2024/25. 

The committee also promised HK$100 million in funding for allocation among the eight UGC-funded universities. 

The funding is provided to universities in the form of a central support grant of HK$1 million for each school every school year, and in the form of an Individual Support Grant at a rate of HK$150,000 per student-athlete. 

The exact amount will be disbursed to each university based on the actual enrollment number of student-athletes in the active study for the undergraduate programs each school year.