Hong Kong liver expert, 75, key player in teen’s Pokemon World Championships triumph
- Dr Lai Ching-lung helped Hong Kong team financially last year and offered them much-needed encouragement, manager says
Sam Cheung Lok-hang, who managed the team of Hong Kong representatives at the Pokemon World Championships, said on Thursday that Dr Lai Ching-lung had helped them financially last year and offered much-needed encouragement when they were repeatedly snubbed while seeking sponsorships.
“I was criticised, teased and ignored every day when I was looking for sponsorship,” Cheung said, adding that only Lai and another person offered them a vote of confidence.
“In my heart, Professor Lai has a part in the championship.”
Cheng Yip-kai, a 16-year-old boy who plays under the username Yekai0904, secured the title on Sunday at the Pokemon World Championships in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Cheung said he wrote to Lai, a top hepatitis expert at the University of Hong Kong’s medical school, last year hoping he would sponsor the travelling expenses for the team to join the championships in Japan as they had a chance of winning.
He said Lai told them he had taken a pay cut and would only be able to give them HK$10,000 (US$1,300). Cheung said it was an enormous sum for the team considering they did not know him.
