Leisure and Cultural Services Department - Community Sports Club BulletinLeisure and Cultural Services Department
New Stars
Squash
KWONG Ena
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The origin of squash lies in European prisons in old times. Back then, it began as a past time for those aristocrats imprisoned, who hit balls against walls all day long out of idleness. This habit slowly emerged as the squash sport we know today. To Ena, squash is not only a recreational activity, but also a sport requiring both speed and passion, allowing her to enjoy full fun. Despite young age, Ena has set a clear goal for herself to represent Hong Kong to compete in international squash competitions one day in future, in the hope of bringing glory to the city. |
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At a young age of 14, Ena has already played squash for eight years. She came across the sport in Primary One, when her teacher hoped that each student should participate in one sport. She heard, by chance, that squash was an interesting and fun sport, and so participated in the selection of the squash school team with some trepidation. The selection turned out to be a success and she was eventually admitted to the school team. |
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Ena’s journey in squash has not been plain sailing since then. She could recall that she had received very intensive training since primary school, from two to three sessions a week at first to at least three hours of training a day. Meanwhile, her coach became increasingly demanding, leaving Ena mentally stretched under great pressure. What was worse was that she could not help doubting her determination to practise squash hard, as she saw peers of similar age having great fun after school, whilst she needed to receive training in isolation.
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Thanks to her coach’s patience and guidance, Ena persevered in her pursuit of excellence in the sport, and was eventually selected to receive squash training at the Hong Kong Sports Institute. Since then, she has participated in competitions of varying scales, gaining valuable experience of the competition environment. Ena specially mentioned the U13 final of the 26th Asian Junior Individual Championships 2019 where Ena and her opponent were neck and neck, so she tried very best to defeat the opponent. Unfortunately, she accidentally fell over for being too eager to save the ball in a rally, hitting her head hard against the wall. While all those present were worried about her condition, Ena just ignored her injuries and insisted on playing the game till the end. She was narrowly defeated 3-2, but it was beyond doubt a decent defeat. |
What impressed Ena most then was when she was leaving the venue, she saw, to her surprise, that her straight-faced coach was moved to tears while her friends and family members unequivocally praised her for the perseverance she demonstrated. She realised from this incident that her enthusiasm for squash was so intense that she was willing to give it all. She has since vowed to do her best to live up to her coach’s expectations, even at the price of injuries.
The most striking difference between squash and other ball games is that squash players play shoulder to shoulder, while players of other ball games are mostly on the opposite side of the court. Ena repeatedly mentioned that it was easy for squash players to collide with the opponent, and it took a lot to learn how to score while avoiding such collisions. 
Ena said that her favourite squash player was Raneem El Welily, a skilful top player renowned for good sportsmanship. During competitions, she will make every effort to avoid collisions. In addition, she always shows respect to opponents, while remaining gracious in the face of defeat. Ena hopes to put herself on par with her idol as a skillful and respectable player in future, making herself a real inspiration and a living legend among squash fans.