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Patrick Blennerhassett

Hong Kong’s Daniel Chan Ho-yuen said the resounding emotion he has felt since winning bronze in wheelchair badminton at the Tokyo Paralympics is relief.
Chan downed South Korea’s Kyung Hoon-kim in straight sets on Sunday at Tokyo’s Yoyogi National Stadium, winning 24-22, 21-10 to give Hong Kong its fourth medal at the Paralympics. Chan said since arriving in Tokyo he was accompanied by a heavy weight on his shoulders.
“When you arrive, you feel like you are carrying so many of Hong Kong people’s hopes on your shoulders,” said the 36-year-old, who went into the Games ranked second in the WH2 category. “And especially with me given I had the highest world ranking in badminton and in all sports for (Hong Kong) athletes.”
Chan was in a car accident at the age of 22 in 2008, losing his leg and spending close to a year in hospital recovering from his injury. He said badminton saved his life and by the end of 2009 he was a member of the Hong Kong para-badminton team, and first represented Hong Kong in 2010 at the Asian Para Games.
He kicked off his quest for a medal at the Paralympics by downing France’s Thomas Jakobs last Thursday in straight sets, but then hit a hiccup the following day in losing to Japan’s Daiki Kajiwara. Chan then beat Great Britain’s Martin Rooke later that day, but on Saturday in the semi-final lost to South Korea’s Kim Jung-jun.

Chan said he’s happy with his overall performance given Kajiwara – who he lost to in a lengthy 77-minute back and forth, three-game slugfest – would go on to win gold on Sunday. Chan said bronze presented a tough mental challenge for him, knowing it was glory, or all for naught in his final game in Japan.
“The bronze medal game is quite different than other games,” he said, comparing it to regular badminton circuit tournaments. “It’s kind of double or nothing, because in a regular tournament if you get third or fourth it means you are in top form. But (at the Olympics), getting bronze means everything, and if you get fourth no one will remember you, so the stress is so much more.”


Chan battled soreness in his arm after his third game, but said he was able to push through it and come through with a gritty win on Sunday, which he credits to the support network he has.
“I knew I have a lot of backing here in Hong Kong, so that helped me knowing people were cheering for me to win.”
That thought came to fruition when he woke up Monday morning in the village, bronze medal in his room, to more than a thousand messages of congratulations.
“I want to try and reply to all of them,” he said. “But I don’t know if I can, it may be too much.”

Chan said he now feels like he’s a part of history when it comes to Hong Kong sports, and this is a magical moment for him as both a person and an athlete. He said being disabled is not easy, especially in a city like Hong Kong, which is not wheelchair accessible, and he still has to deal with people staring at him in public every day of his life.
“Being disabled, I am always being discriminated against and put in unfair conditions, I’m always struggling. So when I feel those moments, I need to remind myself and ask, ‘Who am I? And where did I come from.’
“So being part of Hong Kong sport history, it will make me feel proud of myself and recognise myself more. So now I have great confidence to go out on the street and I am not scared of anybody’s eyes and I can look into their eyes even though they are looking at me strangely.”

Chan said he is not sure about his future yet and will use his time in quarantine to mull whether he wants to continue playing and shoot for Paris in 2024. He said one of the things weighing on him is that he is the only wheelchair badminton player who competes at an elite level and he wants children in wheelchairs to have a role model to look up to.
He said he doesn’t plan on wearing his bronze medal out in the streets of Hong Kong.
“I don’t think I would go that far,” he said. “But maybe I will use it once to get some free noodles.”


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Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

Tokyo Paralympics: Hong Kong bronze winner Daniel Chan ‘relieved’ after delivering badminton medal

Daniel Chan is now an Olympic medallist, which he says is a relief. Photo: Hong Kong Paralympic Association

Daniel Chan. Photo: Hong Kong Paralympic Association

Portrait of Daniel Chan Ho-yuen, a wheelchair badminton player. Pictured at the Hong Kong Sports Institute in Sha Tin. 12JAN19 SCMP / Edmond So

Daniel Chan. Photo: Handout

Tokyo Paralympics: Hong Kong adds a silver lining to its campaign with 2 medals on the final day of competition

(From left) Silver medallist Chu Man-kai of Hong Kong, poses with gold medallist Krishna Nagar of India and bronze medallist Krysten Coombs of Britain on the podium. Photo: Reuters

Hong Kong's Leung Yuk Wing and Vivian Lau Wai Yan in action during the Boccia Pairs BC4 Gold Medal Match between Slovakia and Hong Kong during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games in Ariake, Japan, Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021. (Joe Toth for OIS via AP)

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Badminton - Men's Singles WH2 Medal Ceremony - Yoyogi National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - September 5, 2021. Silver medallist Jungjun Kim of South Korea, Gold medallist Daiki Kajiwara of Japan and Bronze medallist Ho Yuen Chan of Hong Kong pose on the podium REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games - Table Tennis - Women's Singles - Class 11 Group B - Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, Tokyo, Japan - August 27, 2021. Ting Ting Wong of Hong Kong in action against Kanami Furukawa of Japan REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo

Tokyo Paralympics: Chu Man-kai takes badminton silver after thrilling final against India’s Nagar

Chu Man-kai was forced to settle for silver after a close final. Photo: Reuters

India's Krishna Nagar celebrates after defeating Hong Kong's Chu Man Kai during men's singles SH6 gold medal badminton match at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

Tokyo Paralympics: Hong Kong boccia bowlers celebrate for silver against Slovakia

Hong Kong's Vivian Lau, Leung Yuk-wing and reserve player Raymond Wong celebrate on the podium after winning silver in the mixed pair BC4 event at the Tokyo Paralympics. Photo: Hong Kong Paralympic Association

Hong Kong (left) celebrate their silver medal at the BC4 mixed boccia event at the Paralympics

Hong Kong boccia bowlers Vivian Lau Wai-yan and Leung Yuk-wing in action at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Photo: Hong Kong Paralympic Committee

Hong Kong's Tse Tak-wah prepares to bowl in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games boccia. Photo: Hong Kong Paralympic Committee

Tokyo Paralympics: Daniel Chan Ho-yuen grabs badminton bronze for Hong Kong

Danel Chan Ho-yuen won Hong Kong’s fourth medal of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Photo: Reuters

Tokyo Paralympics: Chu Man-kai going for badminton gold, Daniel Chan Ho-yuen can still win bronze

Hong Kong's Chu Man-kai in SH6 badminton action at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Photo: Hong Kong Paralympic Committee

Hong Kong's Daniel Chan Ho-yuen in SH6 badminton action at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Photo: Hong Kong Paralympic Committee

Sport

Hong Kong


The 36-year-old world number two ranked wheelchair badminton (WH2) player in the world says winning bronze feels like a weight lifted off his shoulders
Chan says it’s too early to say if he is going to make a run for Paris 2024 but feels as if he’s ‘put his name in the history of Hong Kong’s sport field’



Tokyo Paralympic bronze medallist Daniel Chan said winning bronze in wheelchair badminton was a stressful experience that is now recast as joyful.
