Who will take over Annie Au as Hong Kong’s number one woman’s squash player?
- A group of aspiring players, headed by world number 44 Ho Tze-lok, are competing in this week’s Chairman Cup in the first local event in over a year
- Liu Tsz-ling, Tong Tsz-wing, Lee Ka-yi and Vanessa Chu have a similar world ranking and will be closely matched
With Annie Au Wing-chi retiring last year, the big question on everyone’s lips is who will take over the mantle as Hong Kong’s top woman’s squash player?
The Chairman Cup, which kicked off on Wednesday at Hong Kong Squash Centre, could provide clues as to who might become the city’s leading light.
Ho Tze-lok, Lee Ka-yi, Liu Tsz-ling, Tong Tsz-wing and Vanessa Chu Man-yee are competing for the first time in more than a year after the sport felt the full brunt of the pandemic. The five players will be out to emulate Au’s feat of becoming Hong Kong’s most dominant player but these are early days for them.
Now serving the community as a police inspector, Au shocked the squash community 12 months ago when she announced her retirement from the sport at a time when she was still world number 11. Her highest ranking attained was six achieved in 2012. Three months later, Joey Chan Ho-ling – also a world top-20 player – followed suit to focus on her studies. Both players were in their early 30s when they made their decision.
A year after the pair quit the scene, Hong Kong will have to find a successor for Au and Chan, although one tournament alone will be insufficient to identify who that player might be.
