Daniel Chan (Physical Education and Recreation Management, Year 2) was named New Youth Dream Maker and won a bronze medal in the men’s singles of the Para-Badminton World Championships 2017 held in Korea.
 
Daniel was grateful to receive the title of New Youth Dream Maker and expressed sincere gratitude to Ms Assunta Ng, Lecturer of the Department of Physical Education and also the recipient of last year’s award, for her nomination. He said that he lost his lower leg in a traffic accident 10 years ago, which pushed him to become the first para badminton player in Hong Kong. As there was no predecessor to seek guidance from, Daniel had to tackle many difficulties alone, such as how to strike a balance between family and work, and how to deal with opposition from some family members and friends. Daniel never gave up his dream. Through his sheer willpower and planning, he not only overcame the problems but is now the second highest ranked para badminton player in the world.
 
Daniel took another challenge last year. He quit his full-time job in order to study an undergraduate programme as an awardee of Elite Athletes Admission Scheme at HKBU. He said that to pursue academic and sporting excellence, he has to keep up his enthusiasm and allocate time properly. He added that many Hong Kong people chase their dream but without enough channels to achieve or sustain them. He hopes people can learn the importance of pursuing dreams from his sharing and encourage more people to do so.
 
On winning a bronze medal in the men’s singles of the Para-Badminton World Championships 2017, he said that although he achieved the predicted outcome, he felt a little disappointed as the Korean player, who enjoyed home-court advantage, narrowly beat him. 
 
In the coming year, Daniel will put all his efforts into preparing for the Asian Games as a full-time badminton player.