Tokyo Paralympics: Leung Yuk-wing off to dominant start as world No 2 Ho Yuen-kei slips up in boccia pool openers
- World No 5 Leung beats Russian opponent Safin, while fellow medal favourite Ho upset by South Korean Kim
- Teammates Lau, Wong and Yeung collect points as Tse takes a tough loss
The 36-year-old, who won the Rio 2016 BC4 individual gold medal, comfortably dispatched world No 22 Safin 3-1 in his first pool E bout.
World No 5 Leung is considered one of Hong Kong’s biggest medal hopes having also won gold at Athens 2004 and silver in Beijing 2008. This is his fifth Paralympics.
It was a tough day for fellow medal favourite Ho Yuen-kei – considered Asia’s best women’s player and ranked world No 2 in her category – who lost to Kim Han-soo of South Korea in the BC3 pool B game at the Ariake Gymnasium.
World No 38 Kim scored one point in each round to win 4-2, as Ho showed glimpses of her class in the third round where she scored two. Though Ho came fifth in the individual event in Rio 2016, the 2018 Para Asian Games gold and bronze medallist said she had matured and was ready to perform to her best in Tokyo. Despite the slip-up, she has several more opportunities to collect enough points to qualify.
Meanwhile, Vivian Lau Wai-yan showed she has still got it after narrowly beating Davor Komar of Croatia 4-3 in the BC4 pool A. The 42-year-old Lau, a 2014 world champion and three-time world championships bronze medallist, will be hoping to finally medal at the Games after coming fifth in Rio 2016, London 2012 and Beijing 2008.
