Covid-19 dashed volleyball dreams but led Hongkonger to become Taoist priest

In this series of stories to mark five years since Hong Kong recorded its first Covid-19 case on January 22, 2020, the Post looks at how some residents’ lives changed and examines the city’s readiness for the next global pandemic.

Leaping into the air and delivering a powerful strike on the volleyball, Oscar Ko Wing-chun dreamed of turning professional and representing Hong Kong in the sport one day.

That was five years ago, when he was in secondary school. Then the Covid-19 pandemic struck, changing everything.

Today, instead of a vibrant volleyball jersey, Ko, 21, wears a flowing Taoist robe.

Instead of taking centre stage on court, he performs traditional rituals for the dead, including the rite of “breaking hell’s gate”, guiding souls to a better afterlife and offering solace to the living.

The pandemic ended his dream of a career in sports, but opened the door to a new religious life, at a time when thousands died in Hong Kong and there was a shortage of Taoist priests for funerals.