Shooter Daniel Chan nervous but excited for Paralympic debut
Since taking up shooting seriously after watching the 2016 Olympics, Daniel Chan had only one aim – to do Singapore proud on sport’s highest stage.
Having watched Vietnamese shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh claim his country’s first and only gold medal in Rio de Janeiro, Chan’s fire was stoked as he dreamt of representing the Republic.
On Aug 20, the 36-year-old embarked on a flight that will see him edge closer to his dream as part of the Singapore contingent flew off for the Paralympics in Paris from Aug 28 to Sept 8.
Singapore will be represented by 10 athletes in six disciplines.
Besides Chan, the others are Yip Pin Xiu, Toh Wei Soong and Sophie Soon (para-swimming), Diroy Noordin (para-athletics), Laurentia Tan, Gemma Foo and Hilary Su (para-equestrian), Jeralyn Tan (boccia) and Nur Syahidah Alim (para-archery).
Chan will be making his Paralympics debut along with equestrienne Su, 33, and boccia athlete Tan, 35.
He said: “I’m really excited and nervous for the competition, because the Paralympics are the biggest event, and I’ve been training and preparing for this since I took on shooting.
“So I’m looking forward to competing and to experience the whole Paralympics atmosphere.”
He booked his ticket to Paris by finishing fifth in the men’s SH1 10m air pistol event at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou in 2023.
On his goal, Chan added: “Shooting is a lot of mindset and mental, so I think it will surely be very stressful going into such a big competition.
“I know that this stress is mainly from within, so my goal is to enjoy the shooting process.”
Over 50 people, including staff from the Singapore National Paralympic Council (SNPC), Singapore Disability Sports Council, family and friends were at a send-off ceremony for the athletes at Changi Airport’s Terminal 3 on Aug 20, as hugs were exchanged and photos taken.
Several other athletes will be flying to Paris from their respective overseas training camps, where they are wrapping up the last phase of their preparations.
Swimmers Yip, Toh and Soon are in Manchester, England, while the three equestriennes are in Germany for their final fine-tuning, along with shot putter Diroy.
Yip will be looking to defend her S2 50m and 100m backstroke titles to add to her collection of five Paralympic gold medals.
She won her first title at the 2008 Beijing Games.
Fellow swimmer Toh will be the Republic’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony at the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysees.
At the send-off ceremony, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua said he just wants the athletes to give their best, with medals being a bonus.
He said: “As with all major Games that our athletes attend, I think the aim is really to try their best, smash some personal best records.
“Perhaps aim to smash a couple of national records, but I think medals are a good bonus to have.
“But if they don’t have any medals, so long as they have put in their best, that’s what we want to see in Singapore.”
SNPC president Teo-Koh Sock Miang reiterated that it “doesn’t set targets as such” because “I only ask of our Singapore athletes to do their very, very best”.
She said: “I’m so proud that they’ve worked so hard ever since (the Paralympics) in Tokyo, and they have ensured that they give their very best to meet the qualifying standards and then to be able to earn their spots.”
Urging Singaporeans to back the athletes, she said: “All we can do is support them, cheer them on and make sure that they are in the best condition to race and compete, (so they can) demonstrate to everybody in Singapore that they are so capable and so achieving.
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