A star is born as youngster Chan Sin-yuk lifts her first professional title at Chairman Cup
- The 18-year-old shows her potential by beating senior players on her way to winning the home tournament
- Yip Tsz-fung takes the men’s title after exacting revenge over Lau Tsz-kwan in the final
A star was born at Hong Kong Squash Centre on Saturday when youngster Chan Sin-yuk lifted her first professional title in her first final – giving a glimpse of the shape of the sport to come among local contenders.
The 18-year-old sixth seed was crowned the 2021 Chairman Cup women’s champion after beating her seniors, including fifth seed Vanessa Chu in the final with a 11-6, 13-11, 11-9 victory.
In the men’s final, top seed Yip Tsz-fung gained sweet revenge over Lau Tsz-kwan, the fourth seed, for the title, notching a 3-1 (11-5, 9-11, 11-8, 11-6) win after losing to the same player in the semi-finals of last month’s Chairman Cup, which was the 2020 edition of the competition.
“I have never played in the final of a professional tournament and am so happy that I have won it at my first go,” said the youngster, who only became a full-time athlete in October last year. “I was a bit nervous the night before and I could not sleep well but fortunately it did not affect me too much.
“Vanessa is a very fast player but I was able to cope with her speed and make it all the way to winning my first title.”