Hong Kong's boccia stars are guaranteed at least two more silvers on Thursday after both mixed pairs reached the gold medal match on day seven of the Paris Paralympics. Bowlers set their sights on gold
Leung Yuk-wing and Annie Cheung defeated their Canadian opponents 6-4 in the BC4 semi-final, after jumping out to an early 4-1 lead on the green.Speaking in tears, Leung told reporters he's excited to have fulfilled his goal of reaching the gold medal match.
"I'm so excited and really happy. Because before the competition, I said I wanted to make it to the doubles final, and we made it," he told RTHK.
In the BC3 classification, Ho Yuen-kei and Tse Tak-wah scored a 3-2 semi-final victory against Thailand.
The SAR duo next faces South Korea for the top prize.
Ho said they were excited to have a shot at gold.
"I'm so excited, so thrilled, because we've made history by reaching the BC3 final for the first time," she told RTHK.
Both matches are scheduled for early Friday morning, Hong Kong time.Medal drought continues for Yu
However, the SAR's athletes didn't fare as well elsewhere.
On the piste, veteran wheelchair fencer Alison Yu missed out on a bronze after losing 11-15 to Spain's Judith Rodriguez in the individual foil category A.
Yu had earlier silenced the French crowd by edging home favourite Brianna Vide by one point, 15-14, in the repechage to enter the medal round.
She found it "regretful" not to have finished on the podium in individual foil.
"That's just how competitive sports go - some win, some lose. Tomorrow is a new day," Yu told RTHK.
The 40-year-old will still compete in the individual epee.
Her performance was the best among fellow Team Hong Kong, China fencers, as Fan Pui-shan, Irene Chung and Tong Nga-ting all bowed out in the earlier rounds of their respective competitions.
But they can redeem themselves on Thursday when they face Ukraine in the quarter-finals of the foil team event.Chan upbeat despite missing out on podium
In the pool, swimmer Chan Yui-lam finished fifth in the SB14 200m individual medley, after entering the final with the third-fastest time.
She said she knew the field was strong, and as long as she did her best, it didn't matter whether she won a medal or not.
Earlier, her teammate Cheung Ho-ying barely missed the cut after finishing ninth in the heats.
Likewise, Tang Wai-lok was 10th overall in the men's SM14 and failed to progress to the final.Yam wraps up campaign on trackAt the Stade de France, sprinter Yam Kwok-fun fell short of her target of competing in a final.
She finished her T36 100m heat in 15.62 seconds, good for 11th overall.China adds nine golds on Day 7
Meanwhile, Team China finished the day with nine more golds, six silvers and five bronzes to extend their dominance at the top of the medal table.
Powerlifter Guo Lingling topped it off by improving her world record to 123kg in the up to 45kg class, while Cui Zhe also struck gold by securing a Paralympic record of 119kg in the up to 41kg.
