Boccia stars win the SAR's third Paris Paralympic gold
Boccia stars Ho Yuen-kei and Tse Tak-wah secured the third gold for Team Hong Kong, China at the Paris Paralympics on Friday, as they took the top prize in BC3 mixed pairs. The duo beat South Korea's Jeong Ho-won and Kang Sun-hee 5-3.  The bowlers from Hong Kong started off strong by scoring a 3-0 lead in the first period, before the South Koreans tied the score in the second. But the Koreans made a mistake in their final bowl in the third period that allowed the SAR to gain an important point, before the Hong Kong pair finished it off in the fourth frame for the final margin. Ho, a three-time Paralympian, finished her trip to France with two golds, having also won her individual event. Both players said not medalling in Tokyo three years ago fueled them to work even harder. "After waiting for so many years, striving for so long, finally we did it. It turns out that as long as you believe, nothing is impossible," Ho told RTHK. "The regret of not winning a medal in Tokyo has fuelled us to work harder to continue storming to our goal. I believe besides training and competitions, we've had very little time with our families and friends. Basically we can say we no longer have friends." Tse also said he's excited to bring home the gold, having fallen just short in Tokyo and not securing a medal. Also on the green, Annie Cheung and Leung Yuk-wing won silver in the BC4 gold medal match, after suffering a 1-6 defeat to sibling duo Leidy and Edilson Chica Chica of Colombia.  The Colombian mixed pair led the score the entire way, with the third frame being their best round with four points.  Veteran bowler Leung, who is in his sixth Paralympics, told RTHK that he hoped to guide Cheung through this journey, as it is her very first Paralympics. "I was quite satisfied with my overall [Paralympics] performance, but there were some bowls that I didn't handle too well. It wasn't until the mixed pairs where I was partnered with Cheung that I hoped to play better because I had a leadership role," he said. "I did relax a lot more in the mixed pairs and really enjoyed the competition. I was very happy with every bowl. I am also overjoyed to have made it into the final with Cheung." Cheung said that she did get nervous, but hopes to use this experience to take on Los Angeles in 2028. "I think I did okay in general, but nerves did rise in some critical moments, especially when you go the final, semi-finals and knockout stages. Sometimes it is hard to deal with these situations when you are anxious," she said. "I hope that I can adjust better to that in the next four years and we can do it again in the next one."  With the medals, Team Hong Kong, China topped the boccia medal table with three golds and two silvers, followed by the national team's two golds and South Korea, who had a gold, three silvers and a bronze. Overall, the SAR has so far taken three golds, four silvers and a bronze at this year's Paralympics. The Chief Executive, John Lee, and sports minister Kevin Yeung both congratulated the bowlers for their success.