AIA Foundation supports AIA HK National Tennis Championships 2004 and Tennis Festival

   

May 12, 2004 - Hong Kong – As a keen supporter of local sports development, the AIA Foundation sponsored the AIA Hong Kong National Tennis Championships 2004 and Tennis Festival.

AIA Hong Kong National Tennis Championships 2004 is an annual major sports event organized by the Hong Kong Tennis Association (HKTA) and Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD). Held from Feb 21 to April 25, 2004 at Victoria Park, the event attracted nearly 800 local and foreign players competing in various categories of the Championships, which included Men’s Open Singles, Men’s Open Doubles, Ladies’ Open Singles, Ladies’ Open Doubles and Mixed Doubles.

In addition to supporting the Championships, AIA Foundation sponsored the AIA Tennis Festival held on April 18. In the Festival, HKTA arranged free exciting tennis games for the public. Around a thousand participants were recorded in this four-hour event. Sports enthusiasts from all walks of life brought along their families to enjoy the fun of playing tennis.

Mr. Gerry ONG, Program Director of AIA Foundation said, “The sports arena in Hong Kong sees a rapid growth in recent years as the SAR Government and many sports organizations have devoted efforts to developing and promoting healthy sports in the community. As a keen supporter of local sports, it is our honor to sponsor HKTA’s tennis events. AIA Hong Kong National Tennis Championships 2004 and Tennis Festival was a very meaningful event. Not only does it provide a golden opportunity to tennis talents to compete, but it also provides fun to the general public through the Tennis Festival. I hope the event will help motivate the public to work sports into their daily routines. We should all learn to develop the stamina that drives athletes to turn hardship into triumph.”
Mr. Gerry ONG, Program Director of AIA Foundation (right) presents trophies to Mr. Giovanni Muratore, Winner of Men’s Open Singles.
  

HKTA’s Mascot HAMSTER presents in the AIA Tennis Festival on April 18 and has fun with all participants.
  
 

AIA Hong Kong National Tennis Championships 2004 came to a successful end in late April. In the main tournament, Men’s Singles Final, Australian Giovanni Muratore defeated local player Jack Hui. Muratore was also the champion in Mixed Doubles with his partner Cindy Lee. Venise Chan topped in the much-anticipated showdown in the Ladies’ Double Final. Jack Hui and Yu Hiu Tung, Cindy Lee and Sarah Fowler seized the crowns for Men’s Doubles and Ladies’ Doubles respectively.

The AIA Foundation was established in April 1995 under the initiative of American International Assurance Co., Ltd. It is a non-profit-making organization set up to extend support to worthwhile charitable causes. The objective of the Foundation is to assist educational, medical, sports and community programs. In addition to providing scholarship to university students, the AIA Foundation also supports tertiary education through the Young Leaders Development Program.

AIA is Southeast Asia’s largest life insurer, with branch offices and affiliated companies located in countries and jurisdictions including China, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei, Guam, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The Company has been assigned ‘AAA’ insurer financial strength rating by global credit rating service Standard & Poor’s. In Hong Kong, AIA has also been assigned ‘Aaa’ the highest rating, by premier financial rating agency Moody’s. AIA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American International Group, Inc. (AIG), the world’s leading international insurance and financial services organization.


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