Sou Wa Chak: Success Needs Persistence
Sou Wa Chak, this name has become popular among basketball players in Macau in recent years. Sou is just 19 years old, and he is enthusiastic about basketball and pays much effort in such ideal, from being a role player in secondary school to become an important player in university now. In the Asian University 3x3 Basketball Championship, he was selected to be one of the University of Macau basketball team members and got the 2nd Prize at last.
From Role Player to Main Player
Sou was interested in basketball when he was small, but he abandoned his interest in exchange of studying hard in his childhood. Luckily his parents understood his dream after all when he went to secondary school. Then he encountered his coach and finally got into the basketball team when he was in Macau Salesian Secondary School. After that, he discovered it was not an easy road and said, “I spent lots of time on practice but I still can't give any helpful assistance to my teammates to get the 1st prize. Under the lead of some senior teammates I got into the final successfully when my team first joined the Division A. It was a pity we still lost the chance to get the 1st prize. In the last year of my secondary school, I was competing in the match with several same age teammates. It was a pity again because we were defeated in the semi-final.”
Fighting for the Prize in Asian University Championship
“Never give up” is the motto of Sou. He understood that he still could not catch up with those senior basketball teammates such as Lai Ka Tong, Lam Teng Long when he studied at the University of Macau.He then decided to strengthen his physique, skills and consciousness and has gradually changed his position to become a perimeter player. After two years' time, Sou became stronger and more muscular that he was selected into the University of Macau basketball team. After joining the team, Sou and his teammates Lai Ka Tong, Lo Hip Meng and Tang Man Io took part in Asian University 3x3 Basketball Championship. In the competition, they battled with China B team, Sou got three-pointer five times and helped University of Macau team to get into final. They won the 2nd prize historically and qualified to take up a challenge in World University 3x3 Basketball Championship.
For the future target, sophomore Sou Wa Chak expressed that he will pay more efforts in the university basketball team and strive for opportunities of competing overseas. In the local basketball league, he hopes that he can join with his Salesian alumni to take part and contest in the senior division, the highest level basketball competition in Macau.
Lao Long San goes all out for a win
Recently, there appears a promising star in road cycling! Lao Long San, who only has two years of cycling experience, is rising fast and has achieved good results in this year's Macao Road Cycling Race. He is the champion of one of the five rounds and is expected to be the king of road cycling at the age of 18. However, Lao has a longer perspective, “I hope I can represent Macao to participate in the Asian Cycling Championships, the National Games of the People's Republic of China, and the Asian Games and achieve success in those competitions.”
Lao honestly said that he did not do well when he was in school, so he decided to make a choice for his own future before adulthood. After half year's consideration, he chose to quit school, participated in the Training Subsidy Program for Elite Athletes as recommended by the Macau Cycling Association and became a full-time professional athlete. Lao said that he “fell in love with cycling at the first ride”, “About two years ago, I went to Coloane to go cycling with my friends every Saturday and Sunday, and I gradually fell in love with the speedy rolling of the wheels. Later, I even bought a professional bike with my own savings. Every day after school, the first thing I did was to go cycling. I just practiced by myself.”
Full-time training with an aim for three large-scale competitions
Young people have a great asset of vigor, and Lao is no exception. After a period of self-learning, he participated in a cycling race, “The first competition I participated was Macao Road Cycling Race and surprisingly I won the first prize (junior group). My cycling potential was then discovered by the Macau Cycling Association. From then on, I officially undertook the systematic training.” Focusing on road race, Lao occasionally went to Hong Kong with the team for trainings and competitions this year. He achieved good results in track race that he was the champion in the Hong Kong Track Cycling Race. “I will put more effort on track cycling race in the future and strive to achieve good results,” Lao added.
Lao understands that he has to practice cycling for success instead of fun. That is his responsibility as a full-time athlete, “Now I need to do the training for four to five hours every day. Comparatively, it is more comfortable to go to school. But this is the path I chose and I would never regret. My targets are the Asian Cycling Championships, the National Games of the People's Republic of China, and the Asian Games. Now I am in the middle of preparing for the games.”
Lao is in the prime of his athlete life. He honestly said that he had never thought about how far he could go for his career. He simply wants to keep on cycling until the day he is not capable of doing it, “If there comes the end of my life as a ‘full-time professional athlete’, I will pick up my books and continue my unfinished study,” said Lao.
Xuan Pei Yan aims high to "go" beyond
Due to the limited space, it is difficult to popularize the golf sport in Macao. In recent years, however, the Golf Association of Macau has been working hard on youth training in order to discover some potential players. Xuan Pei Yan, a 16 years old player, was recommended by the Association this year to participate in the Macau Open, which has been included the Asian Professional Golf Tour, where he has benefited a great deal from the competitions with the leading professional players in the world.
His father devoted a lot of his attention to cultivate him
Affected by his father, Xuan Pei Yan showed special preference to golf since he was very young. He said, “I got to know golf when I was 8 years old, my dad brought me to join a Youth Training Course held by the Association to receive professional training. I was fat at that time and was not appropriate to play other sports. On the contrary, the golf sport doesn't require me to run up and down, so I was interested in it. My dad paid much strength to cultivate me. He is meritorious to my experience with golf.”
He is waiting for the Asian Games in two years
Xuan Pei Yan has got both parents' support and the Association's attention, on this basis, his progress will be immeasurable with more competitions and experiences. He expected his future like this, “I don't dream to be a professional player now. I hope to realize my goals step by step. I have already finished my first step to participate in the Macau Open this year. Then, I will work harder and try to achieve the score at par level. My long-term goal is to participate in the 2018 Asian Games as a representative of Macao.”
The golf sport helps him to build confidence
As a young player who played in an international competition for the first time, Xuan Pei Yan said, “I was nervous to compete with these world-class players, but still gaine a lot of experiences that can't be achieved during my daily trainings. I can feel their focus and circumspection in the process of competition. Since I played golf, I got stronger confidence and courage to face challenges and difficulties in study and life.”
His unforgettable experience to get an eagle
If someone likes a kind of sports truly, he will be obsessed with every detail and easy to be affected by it. As an inexperienced player, Xuan Pei Yan shared his most excitement moment with us, “I went to Shanghai to join a competition with my dad four months ago, and the first stroke of a hole was terrible, but then, I played a beautiful second stroke, which not only saved my first mistake, but also was the first eagle in my life. It' s my most unforgettable experience.”
