“I’m quite emotional. It may be the last time I battle it out with him.”

Chan Ho Yuen Daniel sent out a touching message to his badminton idol Kim Jungjun after outmanoeuvring the Korean 21-10 21-15 to reach the 4 Nations Para Badminton International 2024 final in WH2 men’s singles.

The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic bronze medallist, set to retire after Paris 2024, said: “He’s my teacher, he’s my brother. He’s one of the only players I recognise as a Para badminton legend. I enjoy playing him and I will miss the time on court with him. I don’t know whether we will meet in Paris because it depends on the seedings. Perhaps we will cross paths later on. For now, I treasure these times.

“Winning is good but I love a smile. We gave each other a hug and a kiss after the match. That was awesome,” added Chan on his embrace with the four-time Asian champion.

As Chan picked up his racket and bags to leave the court, he yelled out to Kim: “I will miss you.”

“It’s true, I will really miss him. Without him, the level of wheelchair badminton wouldn’t be as high as it is. He was ahead of everyone for a decade and everyone was catching up to his level. Now we have Daiki Kajiwara but without Kim, we’d still be playing at kindergarten level. Now we are at university level and everyone in wheelchair badminton should thank and recognise him.

“Our communication is limited because he doesn’t speak much English but we understand each other. When I was starting out as a ‘good player’, I’d go to Korea and learn a lot from him. I miss the old days,” reminisced Chan.

Chan faces a steeper challenge ahead with Kajiwara in the way of gold in the final.

“He will be very tough to play. I don’t think he’s lost a singles match since Tokyo 2020. His weapon is his mentality, it’s so strong. I will need to be 10 years younger to beat him,” he jested.

→ Results (Day 4)

→ Order of Play (Day 5)

WHAT OTHERS SAID

“It’s helpful preparation for Paris 2024. The stage will be bigger and I must also manage my nerves. I try to keep calm and smile through the nerves.” – Fujino Haruka (SL4)

“I’ve built up my stamina and mental resilience over the past four years. I’m happy to be in the semifinal, I deserve this. I’ve worked hard.” – Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli after winning a tough WH1 men’s singles semifinal against Jeong Jaegun

“I don’t think I’m unbeatable but I’m a very determined person and I love playing Para badminton. It’s the reason I came to accept my disability.” – Sarina Satomi

“She’s very deceptive and challenging to play. If I could go back and redo the match, I’d try to have better footwork, play more punch clears to the backline and move her around a lot more.” – Celine Aurelie Vinot after a 21-11 21-8 defeat to Syakuroh Qonitah Ikhtiar