A 75-year-old liver expert has been hailed as a key contributor to the success of a Hong Kong teenager who this week became the city’s first world champion at Pokemon Go.
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.
The medical expert immediately rushed to a bank to transfer the money after work that day, Cheung recalled.
It is understood that H KU opted not to renew Lai’s contract in 2021. The official retirement age at HKU is 60 and he currently serves as an emeritus professor at university’s medical faculty.
Cheung also said Lai offered them encouragement when they lost the competition last year, telling them he “sincerely hoped” the Hong Kong team would win in the future and that “losing isn’t such a big deal”.
The team, in return for his goodwill, bought Pokemon gifts to Lai, who was also a huge fan of the game, he said.
Without Lai’s support, Cheng would not be able to win the world championship, Cheung said.
The team had kept the s cholar informed throughout the championship this year, he added. Cheung also said the team had not asked for any financial help from Lai this year as they had official sponsorship.
Lai told the Post on Thursday that he was “absolutely, totally happy” about the good news. He said he had never imagined the team would win when he decided to sponsor them last year.
He also expressed gratitude for Cheung’s appreciation online, saying he had only met him once when were playing Pokemon Go a few years earlier.
