For the last three years, Chu Man Kai has been in sublime form. The Short Stature (SH6) player from Hong Kong China has had a succession of title wins under his belt and will head into the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games as the top seed.

Having won four of five tournaments in men’s singles this year, Chu knows he’s the favourite for gold, but he is also aware that the Paralympics can be a very different challenge compared to all the tournaments he’s won so far.

“Every athlete wants to be here and win the gold. You are training hard and playing well, but once at the Games if you cannot execute what you can do, you’ll fail and you’ll have regrets.

“Finishing with regrets is not a good thing. You have to play the way you play in training.”

The 33-year-old knows all about finishing second-best on the biggest stage of his life. Heading into Tokyo 2020 as the world champion, he lost a close final to Krishna Nagar.

“It changed my thinking,” he says, about the difference Tokyo 2020 made. “I got a good result, but I realised I can do more. I can have no regrets because I was close to gold. It made me more humble. You can win all the other tournaments, but it’s a new game every time, and you can win only if you play well.

“My achievement in Tokyo was good, but it was more important to know the pressure and what I could do in future. So for the next year I got a great training team, good coaches, and I started feeling different during tournaments and getting good results.

“You can see what pressure is about. You can adjust it in the training programme and find a way to improve. So once you know the Paralympic cycle, you will know what you can do at what time.”

Since Tokyo 2020, he has become the dominant player in the SH6 category. In 2022, the year after the Paralympics, he won five straight titles including the World Championships; last year he won six of nine tournaments.

This year, after a surprise quarterfinal exit at the World Championships, he bounced back winning the next four tournaments.

“The results are good, but you can’t take anything for granted at the Paralympics because it’s different,” says the Hongkonger.

“In Tokyo there were no spectators. The arena is closer here and you can see many more people. My coaches keep telling me to focus on the game because all other players are trying to beat me as I’m top seed.

“If you cannot adjust your feelings, your thinking won’t be well and you’ll lose.”

CLICK HERE FOR SCHEDULE

Also Read:

Paris 2024: Wheelchair Stars to Watch
Paris 2024: Standing Upper Stars to Watch 
Paris 2024: Standing Lower Stars to Watch
Paris 2024: Short Stature Stars to Watch