Elite athletes awarded Nissin Foods (Hong Kong) Charity Fund Scholarship

The Education University of Hong Kong and Nissin Foods (Hong Kong) Charity Fund held a Presentation Ceremony on 16 January 2024 to present Nissin Foods (Hong Kong) Charity Fund Scholarship 2023/24 to a new batch of outstanding EdUHK elite athletes, including Miss Chan Wing-yee in woodball, Mr Joseph Lau in cycling, Mr Tang Cheuk-yiu in shuttlecock, and Mr Yue Ching-ho in tennis. Since its establishment in the 2022/23 academic year, a total of eight elite athletes, all from the Department of Health and Physical Education (HPE), have received the scholarship.

The Scholarship aims to encourage elite athletes to pursue excellence in both their athletic performance and academic studies, so that they may become health educators in the future. It has been created for outstanding students enrolled in the Bachelor of Health Education (Honours) or the Postgraduate Diploma in Education programmes. In addition to awarding initial support, the Charity Fund has also made the scholarship renewable, to support the awardees in their studies, without the worry of financial burden.

EdUHK President Professor John Lee Chi-kin expressed his gratitude to Nissin Foods (Hong Kong) Charity Fund for their unwavering trust in and support to the University. “We are dedicated to promoting dual-career pathways for local elite athletes. I am delighted to learn that many elite athlete graduates have chosen to serve in the education sector. With their remarkable courage and perseverance, I firmly believe that they will become inspiring torchbearers for the younger generation,” he said.

Chairman of the Nissin Foods (Hong Kong) Charity Fund Mr Kiyotaka Ando said, “In pursuit of our founder, Mr Momofuku Ando's belief that ‘Eating and sports are the two axles of health’, we have launched the Scholarship together with EdUHK. We believe that, with our support, the awardees can focus on their sports and academic performance. They will become part of the Nissin Team to cultivate a healthy lifestyle through food and sports.”

“It is no doubt that food and nutrition play a critical part in sports performance. In recent decade, numerous studies around the world have been done to find the correlation between food, including fasting under supervision, and athletic performance. At HPE, we strive to incorporate the latest food science research findings into our teaching. We will work together with our partners to provide the best support for our elite athletes and update them on the newest knowledge in sports science, nutrition studies, and so forth, allowing them to continue to perform at their best,” Dr Andy Tse Choi-yeung, Associate Professor and Acting Head of HPE, said.

Ms Zhang Ling, Sports Ambassador of Nissin Foods and Hong Kong’s erstwhile number one tennis player, said, “As a professional tennis player, I understand very well the needs of elite athletes and the many challenges they face. I believe the Scholarship for elite athletes can give them peace of mind and enable them to make genuine career decisions. I’m proud to be part of a team responsible for creating a better learning environment for potential teachers, which will ultimately benefit various people, including children in need.”

Tang Cheuk-yiu, an accomplished shuttlecock athlete and scholarship recipient from the Postgraduate Diploma in Education programme, thanked the Nissin Foods (Hong Kong) Charity Fund for the scholarship. “This scholarship enables me to pursue my dream of being a physical education teacher, while continuing my sports career and contributing to society,” he said.