Daniel Chan (Physical Education and Recreation Management, Year 2) clinched gold in both the men’s singles and doubles in the wheelchair category of the Dubai Para-Badminton International 2018, after a lapse of 18 months.

In the WH1-2 men’s doubles, Daniel teamed up with a player from France and defeated teams from Malaysia to grab gold. In the final round of WH-2 men’s singles, Daniel beat a Malaysian player with two straight sets and won another gold medal. 

Daniel felt extremely excited about the result as he achieved the goal he set for this competition. As Daniel considered the Malaysian player to be the strongest opponent in the competition, he focused his training sessions on analysing the opponent’s playing style, adjusting his own competition strategy and psychological state with the aim of maintaining his concentration in every game.

Daniel attributed the win to being in the right place at the right time with the right partner. For instance, this was not the first time Daniel teamed up with his partner for the men’s doubles, so the tacit understanding they have built up enabled better performance on the field. The first gold medal then boosted Daniel’s confidence and gave him the momentum to claim another victory in the men’s singles.

Though international competitions have come to a temporary halt, Daniel, a recipient of the Elite Athletes Admission Scheme, is kept busy as he has to return to campus to catch up on study progress and prepare for the examinations and new academic year. With many important sporting events lined up in the second half of the year, Daniel said that he has to arrange his study and training schedule very well to strike a good balance between his identities as a student and an athlete.