Hong Kong Handball Star Wu Lei-ling Becomes First to Join Japan's Top League
On.cc · 1 SOURCESabout 5 hours ago5 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong women's handball star Wu Lei-ling has made history as the first Hong Kong player to sign with a professional Japanese handball club. The 28-year-old captain, fresh from competing at the Asian Games where she scored 13 goals in a win over Vietnam, has joined La Tida Ryukyu of the Okinawa-based Terrace Hotels group on a two-year contract. She will balance morning shifts at the hotel with afternoon training sessions, as the H League season is already underway and she is awaiting visa clearance to report for duty. Wu hopes her pioneering move will help put Hong Kong handball on the map and create more opportunities for local athletes to pursue professional careers abroad.
Key Points
- Wu Lei-ling signed a two-year contract with La Tida Ryukyu (ザ・テラスホテルズ ラティーダ琉球), a club owned by Terrace Hotels in Okinawa, Japan
- The four-time Asian Games veteran scored 13 goals in Hong Kong's victory over Vietnam at the Asian Games, leading the women's team to the win
- Wu is currently playing at the International Women's Handball Challenge Cup being held at Ma On Shan Sports Ground
- As an enterprise team, La Tida Ryukyu players work 4-5 hours at the hotel each morning before afternoon training sessions
- Wu quit her long-standing stable job to pursue this professional opportunity, describing it as a sudden dream she had shelved years ago
Why It Matters
Wu's milestone signing demonstrates that Hong Kong athletes can compete at the highest levels of Asian professional sports, potentially inspiring a new generation of local handball players to aim higher . Her aspiration to bring back Japan's advanced training methodologies could also help elevate the overall standard of Hong Kong handball, benefiting the sport's development in the city .
Wu's milestone signing demonstrates that Hong Kong athletes can compete at the highest levels of Asian professional sports, potentially inspiring a new generation of local handball players to aim higher . Her aspiration to bring back Japan's advanced training methodologies could also help elevate the overall standard of Hong Kong handball, benefiting the sport's development in the city .