Paralympic shooter Daniel Chan was glad his sister Chen Ning was late for his event as she would have made him more nervous

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In July, 8days.sg spoke to YES 933 DJ Chen Ning, 31, about her brother, Daniel Chan, 37, who was set to represent Singapore in shooting at the Paralympics.
With the Paralympics well underway now, we got in touch with Daniel and Chen Ning, who are both in Paris. Yes, supportive sister Chen Ning flew all the way to there to support Daniel. 
When 8days.sg got on a video call with the siblings, they were having lunch along a busy street in Paris. 
Daniel, who has Erb’s Palsy in his left arm, made his Paralympics debut at the National Shooting Centre in Chateauroux last week (Aug 28). Sadly, he narrowly missed out on the finals after finishing 10th out of 26 in the 10m air pistol SH1 qualification.
He scored 561 points, just one point lesser than the final athlete to advance to the final. The gold medal eventually went to South Korean para-shooter Jo Jeong-du.
While it was a pity to come so close to the finals, Daniel remains optimistic and thankful for the opportunity to represent our country.
“It was a wonderful experience and like a dream come true. This was the first goal I set for myself when I took up shooting. I’m really glad that it came sooner than I expected,” he says.
Daniel was also surprisingly calm for a first-time Paralympian.
“I wasn’t very nervous because I took it as a normal event. We were there for one week to practise and everything was good,” shares Daniel.
The jitters only got to him on the day of the competition, especially because he had a really bad start to the game.
“My first 10 shots were like 88 points. At our level, we should at least shoot above 90 lah. 88 is really, really rare,” he sighs.
It came as a surprise to Daniel, who says he did very well during the 15-minute practice session before the actual game. 
“When we went on to the first series, maybe I had some expectations and thought: ‘Wow, I am doing so well, maybe I can achieve the same thing’ and that made me nervous,” he recalls. 
He managed to make a strong comeback when they entered the second series.
“I was thinking: ‘Die already lah. GG lah. So just go all out lor. Don’t think so much anymore,’ he laughs, adding that he didn’t look at how his competitors were doing throughout the game. 
It helped that Chen Ning was late as she had trouble entering the venue.
“When I go to the competition area, I didn’t see her at all, which is good thing,” he laughs. 
Chen Ning was also equally nervous to watch her brother compete.
As it was her first time seeing her brother in his competitive element, Chen Ning says that she got to witness a different and “more serious” side of her brother.
“From his back view, I could sense that he was very focused and nervous. It made me feel very nervous as well,” she tells us. 
Their parents could not be at the Games because of the long flight and their old age. They also did not get to see Daniel in action as the preliminary rounds for his event were not shown. 
When asked if his parents said anything to him before or after the game, Daniel chuckles: “They didn’t say anything ‘cos they were scared it would affect my mood.”
Now that he’s done with the event, Daniel moved into the Olympic Village, where he will join the rest of the Paralympians before they return to Singapore after the closing ceremony next Monday (Sep 9). 
“So for the remaining days I’ll just rest, exchange pins [with the other athletes] and eat the muffins,” he laughs.
Yes, the legendary chocolate muffins that went viral thanks to Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen who couldn’t stop raving about them. 
And Daniel’s verdict?
“Um… I think it’s fine,” he says with hesitation in his voice.
“It’s very chocolatey and has a lot of chocolate sauce. I don’t think I’ll eat it again lah. Is it because I’m old already that’s why it’s too sweet for me? Maybe the young people find it very nice. (Laughs)”
What about the living quarters which went viral for being not the most comfortable?
“Yesterday was my first night. I had a bit of a culture shock because in the shooting village, everything was very peaceful and quiet. But here, everyone walks very fast, they all seem very busy,” he laughs.
Daniel also has to share his room with many people, unlike the shooting village.
“I’m not so lucky anymore, there are two people in a room but it’s like an apartment with seven or eight people in it. There’s only one toilet and last night I got to experience the cardboard bed,” he laughs.
Surprisingly, he didn’t find it as uncomfortable as other athletes made it out to be. 
“It’s good for your backbone lah,” he quips, adding that he wouldn’t mind sleeping on a bed like that forever. 
Well there’s always LA 2028?
Catch the Paralympics on mewatch or in the video below: