With Hong Kong’s recent Olympic triumphs – fencer Edgar Cheung winning gold in the men’s individual foil and swimmer Siobhan Haughey winning silver in the women’s 200-metre freestyle – everyone’s got their eyes on Team HK at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. But did you know that these Hong Kong celebrities used to be national athletes too?

Jackson Wang

Jackson Wang left the world of fencing in 2011 to begin K-pop idol training in South Korea.

Jackson Wang is a member of K-pop boy group Got7, a solo star who releases songs in both English and Chinese, a fashion icon with his own streetwear brand and a regular guest on various variety TV programmes. But before he was the multitalented hip-hop artist he is now, Wang was a sabre fencer on Hong Kong’s national team.

Jackson Wang spent many of his teen years as a sabre fencer.

His father Wang Ruiji was formerly on the Chinese national fencing team and even won gold at the Asian Games. Jackson began fencing at the age of 10 under the training of coaches and his father, and won multiple awards for Hong Kong’s fencing team, even achieving first place in the Asian Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships in 2011.

Alex Fong

Alex Fong is currently at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as a reporter with TVB.

From a young age, Alex Fong’s father wished for him to get involved with swimming. He was trained under renowned American coach Richard Shoulberg.

Before his acting and singing career, Alex Fong was given the nickname “Little Flying Fish” for his swimming achievements. He competed at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 where he set Hong Kong swimming records in the 200-metre backstroke and 400-metre individual medley.

And this year, Fong is currently at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games … as a reporter with TVB, where he has celebrated the achievements of fellow swimmer Haughey on social media.

Alex Fong has been swimming competitively from a young age.

Stephanie Ho

Stephanie Ho started working with TVB in 2009.

Stephanie Ho was a participant in TVB’s singing competition The Voice at the age of 16, wowing crowds with her singing. Although she didn’t win, she signed on with TVB as an actress. Ho has also been releasing her own music since 2013 and has won multiple best new artist awards.

Stephanie Ho has played golf in local competitions since 2018.

But Ho has also been playing golf since she was six years old and, four years later, she joined the Hong Kong National Golf Team, later setting a record as the winner of the Hong Kong Ladies Close Amateur Championship in 2009. Although she stopped playing when she was a teenager, Ho has recently picked up golfing again and has been playing in local competitions since 2018.

Ian Chan

Ian is a member of popular Canto-pop boy group Mirror.

A member of popular Canto-pop boy group Mirror, Ian Chan is a jack of all trades. Not only is he a talented vocalist and actor, he also founded the clothing brand Indipandant and is an all-round athlete.

Ian Chan has played volleyball since middle school.

Chan started playing volleyball in middle school … as well as basketball, track and field, table tennis and even taekwondo, in which he has a black belt. At university, Chan joined the national volleyball team via the South China Athletic Association.

You can catch Chan in action on ViuTV’s programme We are the Littles, where he and his fellow Mirror members showed off their volleyball skills.

Stephy Tang

Stephy Tang has taken a liking to yoga and frequently updates her fans with her progress.

From starting out as a model to joining Canto-pop girl group Cookies and becoming an actress, Stephy Tang has led an extensive career in showbiz. And although her passion for sports has recently shifted towards yoga, Tang was once an avid volleyball player.

Stephy Tang has shared throwback photos of herself playing volleyball on her Instagram.

Tang played in Hong Kong’s volleyball team since middle school, mostly as a libero or left wing spiker. Despite giving up the sport in order to focus on her budding entertainment career, in 2015 she started a women’s volleyball team sponsored by her fashion label Loey, and the team even played against China’s national volleyball team.

Tang also joined Chan and the Mirror boys in ViuTV’s We are the Littles as the coach of the boys’ team.

Ruco Chan

Ruco Chan has starred in many hit TVB dramas.

Ruco Chan made his TV debut in 1994 and has starred in TVB dramas like Forensic Heroes III, A Fist Within Four Walls and many more. But before he enrolled in, and graduated from, TVB’s training programme, Chan spent his younger days playing table tennis for Hong Kong’s national team.

Ruco Chan has been competing in table tennis matches along with other TVB stars for TVB’s All Stars Sports Day.

He joined the Hong Kong table tennis team after training at the Jubilee Sports Academy from age 13, becoming the youngest player to represent the city in overseas competitions at the time. However, he eventually left to focus on his acting career.

But he recently had the chance to show off his table tennis skills in TVB’s All Stars Sports Day, where he and other TVB artists took part in various sporting events leading up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.