Paralympic athletes go all-in at parafencing and boccia events

Marcus Lum

Hong Kong's star parafencer Yu Chui-yee, along with the boccia duo of Leung Yuk-wing and Cheung Yuen, continued their quest for Paralympic medals yesterday.

Yu, a seven-time gold medalist, began her individual foil A event with a strong performance, advancing through the round of 16 by defeating American fencer Taylor Jataya 15-10, followed by a 15-8 victory over Italy's Trigilia Loredana in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, her teammate Fan Pui-shan kept her medal hopes alive by winning in the second-round repechage.

In boccia, Leung Yuk-wing and Cheung Yuen triumphed over Team Slovakia, having secured a spot in the semifinals against the Canadian team in the early hours of today (HK time) in the mixed pair BC4 event.

Despite losing a point in the first round, they rallied to score five points in each of the next two rounds, ultimately winning the match 10-2 after four ends.

Their fellow boccia teammates, Tse Tak-wah and Ho Yuen-kei, were also set to compete in the mixed pair BC3 event earlier at midnight (Hong Kong time).

In equestrian, veteran athlete Tse Pui-ting finished 15th in the dressage event riding Jockey Club Juno's Whispering Angel. In a post-match interview, Tse acknowledged that she and her horse are still acclimating to each other.

"We are still in the break-in period after only a few months of working together. There's plenty of room for improvement. I also enjoyed the atmosphere with the audience cheering, especially since there were no spectators in Tokyo three years ago," she said.

Para athlete Yam Kwok-fan faced disappointment in the women's T36 100 meters, finishing fifth in her heats and failing to qualify for the final. A tearful Yam expressed her regret, saying she "failed to follow her coach's instructions" during the race.

On a brighter note, para swimmer Chan Yui-lam secured second place in her heat for the Women's SM14 200-meter individual medley and was set to have competed in the final at 11.50pm yesterday night.

marcus.lum@singtaonewscorp.com