Tokyo Paralympics: Hong Kong boccia bowlers celebrate for silver against Slovakia
- Medal ends 17-year wait for pairs glory since gold in Athens 2004, taking Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games count to three
- Bronze hopes dashed in BC3 event as Greece run out 7-0 winners over Tse Tak-wah and Ho Yuen-kei
Hong Kong celebrated a first boccia pairs medal since Athens 2004 when the BC4 duo of Vivian Lau Wai-yan and Leung Yuk-wing won silver in Tokyo.
It ended 3-2 to the pair of Samuel Andrejcik and Michaela Balcova, with the Hongkongers unable to take it to a tiebreak.
Lau and Leung, watched on by unused teammate Raymond Wong Kwan-hang, took a 1-0 lead in the first end but Slovakia shot back with two points in the second end and another in the third end.
The Hong Kong duo’s solitary point in the final end was not enough and gold went to Slovakia, with Leung adding silver to his bronze in the individual BC4 event.
“There was only 30 seconds left in the third end and I was confident I could get a score but unfortunately I pushed the red ball and gave them a point. It was unfortunate,” Leung said of the play that put Slovakia ahead but he was delighted with the silver.
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“I’m very happy because we beat Portugal in the semi-finals,” Leung said. “We have achieved our wish which was Vivian and Raymond to win this medal together at the Paralympics. This medal means a lot to us.”
This was the first medal for Lau at the Games, she has competed in every one since Beijing 2008.
“It has taken four Paralympics for me to win my first medal,” she said, while Wong added his delight: “We‘ve been training hard together and now the wish has come true.”
The wish was made harder by the pandemic, Leung said.
“It has been more than one year since we last competed. We are happy we could compete again after such a long time. Thanks to the coaching staff who used a lot of time to help us and help us practise together. Special thanks to our physiotherapist Raymond Lee who joined us in 2014. It was his last time helping us.
“Vivian and I are very good friends and make a good team together. We already achieved our target by winning a medal. This was a smooth partnership. We got a silver medal so we are very happy.”
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The medal ended a 17-year wait for pairs glory for Hong Kong when Leung and partner Lau Yan-chi won gold in Greece.
It was the Greeks who prevented Hong Kong from adding another medal in the BC3 pairs event earlier in the afternoon at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre.
Hong Kong pair Tse Tak-wah and Ho Yuen-kei were well beaten by the Greece bowlers, who scored a dominant 7-0 win to take bronze.
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Greek bowler Grigorios Polychronidis was as shocked as anyone.
“Definitely surprised,” he said. “The team difference is not all that deep. We are both very good teams. The games are always 50-50. There were some details during the game that we managed to take advantage of them in the first two ends to go ahead 5-0.”
Hong Kong’s boccia bowlers leave Tokyo with two medals, one more than Leung’s sole gold in Rio five years ago.
The Hong Kong delegation has three medals with one more guaranteed in the badminton and the chance of another to come on Sunday.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor congratulated the boccia bowlers, including reserve Wong Kwan-hang, for winning a third medal for Hong Kong at the Games.
“With rich experience, superb skills and team spirit, the athletes put on excellent performances in the competitions and claimed a medal … Hong Kong people and I are overjoyed and are proud of the achievements of the three athletes,” Lam said in a statement.
