Truston Yu

“As a high school student, I dreamt of studying in the UK and rowing is a big thing there, but unfortunately I failed my interview and ended up in Hong Kong instead. I was not able to join the rowing club orientation, but I made it to the dragon boat one.

Hong Kong is widely considered a sacred place for this sport, so I thought now that I'm here, I’d might as well try something unique to this place.

In 2018, I was appointed captain of my residential hall's team, Castlers' Dragons. 

We raced against other halls at Stanley Beach and won the HKU Invitational Race Championship.

We are a seasonal team that only trains one month before the race, but we were victorious!

Just a year before, I’d never done any sports. I wouldn't have imagined becoming captain of a team, not to mention leading one to victory.

The sweetness of victory is short-lived, while the pain of defeat lasts forever; yet in the end, what mattered the most to me was our togetherness - the training sessions together, the hotpot dinners we had together, and of course, receiving the trophy together. That was the best memory of my freshman year!”

[Truston Yu (Jakarta, Indonesia & Hong Kong), paddler on Jakarta Paddle Club & Castlers’ Dragon.]

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