No matter where you come from, you can do your best instead of thinking negatively like ‘I'm not a local and I don't know Cantonese.’
Mohsin Khan
Aspiration in Sports and Education
Ming Pao carried a profile story on a local Pakistani cricket player Mohsin Khan, who is also an EdUHK student, on how he faced racial discrimination as an ethnic minority athlete in Hong Kong. He is dedicated to promoting communications among different races through sport.
Mohsin was selected for the Hong Kong Youth League since he was 16 years old. However, his parents were worried that it would be difficult for him to be an athlete in Hong Kong and opposed his son to continue playing cricket.
In an attempt to gain parents’ support to his pursuit in the cricket sport, Mr Khan decided to stop playing cricket for a year to study and was eventually admitted to the Bachelor of Education (Honours) (Physical Education) programme as he wished. He said university life has broadened his horizon and helped him to improve Cantonese, adding that it is necessary for athletes to pursue a good educational qualification.
Many world-class athletes have a certain educational qualification. In case they may not be able to continue playing sports due to serious injury, they will also have another skill.
Community integration should be a two-way acceptance and understanding. Cricket is another magic tool for Mohsin to convey this message. He has a sense of belonging to Hong Kong since he was a child, and he is proud to be a member of the Hong Kong team. He hopes that his peers would have a positive attitude towards ethnic minority identity. “No matter where you come from, you can do your best instead of thinking negatively like ‘I’m not a local and I don’t know Cantonese.’ Athletes or different people have different roles in the society, we can think about how to contribute to the society.”
More details can be found at MingPao: