HONG KONG (ANN/CHINA DAILY) – In 2022, Hong Kong squash player Abbie Leung Ka-huen faced a career crisis when a minor knee injury shattered her dreams at the Asian Junior Individual Championships. A year later, she made a remarkable comeback, clinching two medals in international competitions.
Upon returning to Hong Kong, she immediately sought help from sports medicine specialists. After a year of rehabilitation, Leung successfully returned to the court, winning a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Junior Squash Team Championships, and the bronze at the 2024 Asian Junior Squash Individual Championships.
However, not every athlete is as fortunate as Leung. In 2012, Angel Wong Hiu-ying became the first female Hong Kong gymnast to participate in Olympic Games. Three years later, while preparing for the 2016 Rio Olympics, she suffered a severe knee injury when attempting a landing, and tore all the cruciate ligaments in her left knee.
She was flown to Hong Kong and had multiple surgeries to painstakingly repair each ligament. For two years, Wong underwent intensive rehabilitation and resumed rigorous training. She has now returned to the sport and continues to represent Hong Kong in high-level competition. However, she has yet to achieve the results she desires.
Wong’s physician, Patrick Yung Shu-hang, chairman of the Orthopedics and Traumatology Department at Chinese University of Hong Kong, said, “Such an injury would make it extremely challenging for an ordinary person to even return to normal walking, let alone for an athlete wanting to return to competition.”
Jim Luk Tze-chung, an associate professor in the Sports and Recreation Department at the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, said increasing awareness about sports injuries has fueled the growth of the sports medicine industry, and also helped athletes unlock their potential and achieve better results.
Lobo Louie Hung-tak, associate head of the Health and Physical Education Department at Education University of Hong Kong, said competition among elite athletes is intense, and enhancing sports rehabilitation and prevention can significantly increase their chances of success.
HK’s leading role
Over the past 30 to 40 years, Hong Kong has been a leader in sports medicine in Asia, excelling in clinical practice, education and research, Yung said.
Hong Kong rehabilitation therapist Lui Yi-nok was included on the national team of therapists taking care of Chinese athletes competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Lui was the only such professional from Hong Kong on the team.
In 2022, she joined the national gymnastics team as the rehab therapist for Chinese gymnast Liu Yang, who was recovering from knee surgery and ongoing waist and shoulder injuries after his victory in the men’s rings at the Tokyo Olympics. On Aug 4, 2024, Liu successfully defended his title at Paris’ Bercy Arena, earning the Chinese team’s first gold medal at the Paris Games.
However, Lui’s role as a sports therapist goes beyond treating an athlete’s injuries and monitoring their physical condition. Her techniques include massage, equipment therapy and muscle taping, while closely interacting with athletes to adjust their training plans, improve performance and ease discomfort.
Yung said collaboration enables athletes to receive more tailored and superior treatment services.
Public support boosted
Sports medicine is not only focused on elite athletes, but also helps popularize different sports among the public, Yung said.
The city’s passion for sports has been boosted by the two gold medals and two bronze medals won by Hong Kong athletes at the Paris Games, as well as a multitude of major sporting events planned for this year. In November, the 15th National Games will be co-hosted by Guangdong province and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.
In addition, the 28-hectare Kai Tak Sports Park, set to open next month, will become Hong Kong’s largest sports complex.
Approximately 9 per cent of the general public who engage in community sports activities experience injuries, the city’s Department of Health reported last year.
Louie said doctors in Hong Kong are extremely busy, and often focus on providing pain relief or treatment for sports-related injuries. However, the real goal of sports medicine is to support an individual’s return to their sport during the recovery process, he said, adding that this needs to be done effectively and safely.
Yung also believes Hong Kong is lagging behind in policies related to sports medicine, and “essentially wasting the potential of our professional personnel”.
Yung said the city should learn from the Chinese mainland, as well as Singapore and Malaysia, where sports medicine is a recognized specialist medical sector. This not only provides more job opportunities, but also boosts government attention to the area and the importance placed on sports medicine.
Dual roles
In the summer of 2024, Leung not only still had her sports career as a squash player, but had also enrolled as a student in the Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy program at Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Leung and 13 other athletes enrolled in different programs at the university offered under the Student-Athlete Learning Support and Admission program.
She said the injury she experienced not only made her realize the importance of sports medicine, but also the need for athletes to acquire knowledge to better protect themselves.
