SINGAPORE – Calm, sights and trigger.

Written on masking tape on a styrofoam block, these are the three words para-shooter Daniel Chan sees when he picks up his air pistol.

They are part of his shooting mantra, learnt from his sports psychology sessions with Dr Harry Lim of the Singapore Sports Institute.

They will also guide him when he makes his debut at the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou. The 36-year-old, who has Erb’s palsy in his left arm – a condition resulting from a traumatic birth delivery which damaged the nerves in his arm and shoulder – is among 16 debutants in the 31-member contingent competing in China.

“I am aiming for top six, it would be a very tough competition,” he said. “For the upcoming Asian Para Games, it is already like the Paralympics because so far all the quota places, all but one, have been given to Asian countries. The Asian field is very strong.”

Maintaining his composure will be key, as he added: “In shooting, during practice and competition are really two different things. Yes, you can shoot like a champion in practice but when it comes to competition, you still need to be daring enough to fire off the shot.”

There are two classifications in para shooting at the Games, SH1 and SH2. He will represent Singapore in the SH1 10m air pistol.

Shooters in the SH1 classification do not require a firearm support while those in the SH2 category require support to shoot.

Chan was introduced to shooting during national service when his unit took part in a mini-competition at Safra Yishun.

But he stopped shooting while studying overseas. His interest in the sport was revived when watching the Rio Olympics in 2016, when he saw Vietnamese shooter Hoang Xuan Vinh, then 42, claim his country’s first-ever gold medal.

Chan said: “At the time, I was a bit naive. I was around 29 or 30 years old then, so I told myself, he’s 40 plus, I have 10 years to catch up if I work double or triple hard.”

As luck would have it, he knew former national shooter Zhang Jingna, whose mother Zhang Shao Ying is a national coach. When Shao Ying found out about his disability, she urged him to try out for the para-shooting team.

When asked how his condition affects his shooting, Chan said: “I am very fortunate, compared to my para-athlete friends.

“When it comes to day-to-day life, it doesn’t affect me that much. The biggest obstacle I face is holding the pellet and putting it into the barrel.”

In competition, he places his pistol on the styrofoam block to reload, while some para-shooters are more disadvantaged as they have to use their shooting hand to load the pellets and then re-position, which affects their stance.

As he started his shooting journey at a relatively late age, Chan is putting in extra hours in the range and has been training six times a week since 2017. In 2022, he competed at the World Shooting Para Sport World Cups in Changwon and Munich, where he finished fourth and eighth respectively.

He has been working with coach Deanne Pheong, an ex-warrant officer of 29 years from the military police rifle section, since February.

Noting that Chan “is very determined and very disciplined in his training”, Pheong – who carries an injury in her right arm – said that she has “good chemistry” with Chan, especially when they travel together.

They both have difficulty storing their cabin bags during flights and will help each other.

While Chan leans on the three-word mantra from his psychologist, his passion for Go (weiqi) also helps with his shooting.

He runs a Go academy and noted that there are similarities between the two.

He said: “For both sports, you need to be really calm. The main difference between them is, for shooting if you are not calm, your hand will start to shake and then you will fire off.

“A lot of people have many different hobbies that they do for fun but, for me, I cannot understand the concept of “do for fun”.

“If I want to do something, I want to be good at it. That’s why I devote a lot of time, effort and passion.”