It was 2008. He was a sturdy and well-built 23-year-old young man working towards a bright future, when a car crashed into him, smashing his prospects in a second. 

He is Daniel Ho-yuen Chan, a Physical Education and Recreation Management Year 4 student. Once a positive young man full of confidence, Daniel suffered a severe blow to his life when he lost his left leg in the accident. Bewildered and full of despair, he kept asking, “why me?”

Setbacks often come out of the blue, but so do miracles. When he picked up his badminton racket again he saw the light and it rekindled his will to fight. 

Before the accident, Daniel was an energetic and active office worker and a frequent participant in amateur badminton competitions. After the accident, he thought he had to give up everything. His eureka moment came when he picked up his racket again, as in that instant, he knew for certain that badminton was his purpose in life. 

In the past, Daniel was nimble on his feet on the court, but he was also rather impetuous, as he hadn’t yet realised that perseverance is the key to success for sportsmen. From standing on his feet to sitting in a wheelchair, he overcame the mental and physical hurdles and started to play confidently again on the badminton court. Through hours of practice, he built endurance and refrained from being impulsive, leading to all-round physical and spiritual growth. 

Daniel’s mother and wife, the two most important ladies in his life, also played a significant part in getting his life back on track. During the long period of hospitalisation, his mother visited him every day, come rain or shine, with freshly prepared meals to speed up his recovery. On the other hand, Daniel and his girlfriend, now his wife, had only been going out for three months when the accident happened. Even so, she never thought about leaving him and spurred him on enthusiastically during his recovery. 

In the years since the accident, Daniel has moved forward courageously and embarked on an ever-enriching and brilliant second life. Today, he is one of Hong Kong’s top para badminton athletes, and he is ranked second in the world in the Men’s Singles Wheelchair 2 category. He was also selected as one of the Hong Kong Ten Outstanding Young Persons in 2019.

In 2016, Daniel joined the Physical Education and Recreation Management programme at HKBU. By leveraging his past experiences and professional expertise, he hopes that he can boost young people’s morale and encourage them to forge ahead with their life goals!