School: School Lam Tai Fai College
Grade Form Five
Sport: Fencing (foil)
Achievements Nicholas, 17, is a member of the Hong Kong Junior Fencing Team. He was the U20 Men's Foil champion in three major local events last year - the Age Group Fencing Championships, U20 Fencing Championships and Junior Fencing Championships. He was also five-time U20 champion in the Age Group Fencing Championships, second runner-up in the Men's Foil Individual (cadet) in the 2009 and 2010 Asian Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships, and 10th in the Cadet Men's Foil at the World Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships this year.
How he qualified "The qualifying tournament for the fencing events of the Youth Olympic Games was the 2010 World Junior and Cadet Fencing Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan," Nicholas says.
"My teammate, Jackson Wang, qualified the day before my match day. I was excited but also nervous the night before. Luckily I had a good rest and it didn't affect my performance. I was second among the Asian fencers and qualified."
Soundbite "I learned fencing as a primary student. I started with foil. My younger sister, Natasha Erica Choi, is also a fencer. She started learning the sport later than me but was admitted to the Hong Kong Sports Institute junior fencing team. I felt I was left behind. I took this as inspiration and practised more often to show I was good enough for the team. A year later, I was accepted," Nicholas says.
From his coach "Nicholas is self-disciplined and willing to make the efforts to achieve his goals. He aims high and his performance in international tournaments has been steady," He Tai-shun, the coach of Hong Kong's fencing team, says.
Insight for the Games "I hope I can be the top Asian fencer at the Youth Olympic Games and represent Hong Kong in the team event. I also look forward to meeting athletes from other sports," Nicholas says.
Kevin Kung will be reporting all the YOG action from Singapore for Young Post