Talented underage swimmer to compete in year-end championship on Fri after controversial barring

A promising nine-year-old swimmer will participate in a year-end championship set to be held this Friday (Nov 15) after the kid had previously been centered in a controversial barring by the Hong Kong China Swimming Association.

The little swimmer earned the chance to compete after Alex Fong Lik-sun -- who co-founded the swimming club the kid belonged and also an athlete-turned-singer -- criticized the local governing body of the sports for denying the chances of potential swimmers due to the three-tiered member system.

In response, the Hong Kong China Swimming Association agreed to allow athletes to join competitions in their personal capacity and is exploring ways to help athletes being "loaned" to friendly clubs that meet the eligibility criteria to participate in competitions.

The nine-year-old is scheduled to compete in the 100-meter freestyle, 50-meter butterfly, freestyle, and backstroke events. Records indicate that his personal performance times are one to two seconds faster than the qualifying standards, which underscores his noteworthy talents in competitive swimming.

In addition to the young swimmer, two other athletes -- aged 14 and 22 -- have registered to compete in the year-end championship individually, both from clubs of a higher tier than Fong's.