Last batch of Paris Paralympians welcomed back to HK
Wheelchair shuttler and Paris Paralympics silver medallist Daniel Chan on Tuesday said he hopes people will remember that he's won medals for the SAR, as he retires from international competition.  This summer's Games were his last after a 16-year career playing for Hong Kong, China.  Chan, 39, said while it's unlikely he will be in the public eye from now on, he hopes he has left his mark. "I hope people will remember there's a wheelchair badminton player Daniel Chan who got some good results in international competitions for Hong Kong, got medals, and in his last Paralympics, he won a silver. I hope people will remember me," he said. Speaking at the airport as part of the last group of Paralympians returning from France, Chan also called on the public to cherish athletes who didn't win medals, saying everybody worked really hard and deserves support. He noted that badminton only became a Paralympic event three years ago and said many athletes like himself hung on for years before they could shine on the brightest stage. Chan said he won't become a coach because there's no other wheelchair shuttler in Hong Kong at the moment, but he hopes to set up an academy focusing on education and social inclusion, while using his own story to encourage disabled people or students with special educational needs. For their part, swimmers Jasmine Ng and Chan Yui-lam, who both won their first Paralympic medals in Paris, thanked the public for their support, as well as those around them who contributed to their sports journeys. Ng, 14, said she was honoured to have unseated legendary sprinter So Wa-wai to become Hong Kong's youngest ever Paralympic medallist.  At the age of 15, So struck gold at the Atlanta Games in 1996 as part of a 4x100m relay team. Chan said she was touched by the welcome home, saying it provided a rare chance to share her joy at winning a medal. Six-time Paralympian Alison Yu, meanwhile, said while the wheelchair fencing team of Fan Pui-shan, Irene Chung, Tong Nga-ting and herself didn't bring home any medals from Paris, they still gained so much from the experience. "We now know for the new training cycle, we know where to put our emphasis on. And we had four girls that went to Paris, one more than in Tokyo. We had debutant Tong Nga-ting this time," she told reporters. "So we hope for the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles, we hope the team can get more qualifying spots and that more new faces will make the Paralympics." The fencers finished fourth in three different events in Paris.