Ko Lai-chak, born on 10 May 1976 in Nanhai, Guangdong (now part of Foshan), stands 1.65 metres tall and plays left-handed with a penhold grip; he is a retired Hong Kong men's table tennis player. He was originally a member of the Chinese national team, taking silver in the men's singles at the 1993 national youth championships and being part of the men's team that won the national championship in 1996. In the early 1990s he met Li Ching in the Guangdong provincial team, and the two progressed from the provincial side to the national team; after retiring from the national team they moved south to Hong Kong and joined the Hong Kong team. At the 2004 Athens Olympics the pair reached the men's doubles final, beating Russia's Mazunov and Smirnov 4–2 in the semi-final before losing to China's Ma Lin and Chen Qi to take silver; it was Hong Kong's first Olympic medal after the 1997 handover and a major breakthrough for Hong Kong table tennis. At the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Ko and Li beat China's Wang Hao and Ma Long and then Ma Lin and Chen Qi in the final to win gold for Hong Kong, and Ko also took a bronze in the men's singles. He competed at several World Table Tennis Championships and World Cups and appeared at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, upsetting Athens champion Ryu Seung-min in the third round to reach the men's singles quarter-finals before losing to Wang Hao. Nicknamed the 'ping-pong twins', his partnership with Li Ching is remembered as one of the territory's most successful doubles pairings, and in 2007 the two were named TVB ambassadors for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Ko received the Medal of Honour in 2005 and was named one of Hong Kong's Ten Outstanding Young Persons in 2010, and he won mixed doubles gold with Tie Ya-na at the 2009 East Asian Games. He and Li split in May 2009, the 2011 Rotterdam World Championships became his last international event, and in 2012 he retired to become coach of the Hong Kong men's youth team.
The 'ping-pong twins' of Ko and Li Ching won Hong Kong's first post-handover Olympic medal and later Asian Games gold, raising the profile of the sport; after retiring Ko became coach of the men's youth team, training the next generation of Hong Kong players.
Achievements
- 2004 · Won silver in the men's doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics with Li Ching, Hong Kong's first post-handover Olympic medal.
- 2006 · Won gold in the men's doubles at the 2006 Doha Asian Games with Li Ching, adding a men's singles bronze.
- 2008 · Competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, reaching the men's singles quarter-finals.