Paralympic boccia gold medallist King Tse Tak-wah on rising to the top

Boccia taught Paralympic gold medallist King Tse Tak-wah to work hard in everything he does rather than leaving things to chance

Boccia player King Tse Tak-wah, who won gold at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, started his journey in the sport as a teenager two decades ago. “I came across boccia at school and initially, I approached it with a casual mindset and didn’t have particularly strong feelings about it,” he says. When he was selected to represent his school during an inter-school competition, however, Tse says he began to “slowly realise the game was quite challenging”.

“I developed a strong desire to defeat my opponents; whenever I scored a point or won a match, I felt a tremendous sense of success and accomplishment. That’s what motivated me to continue pursuing this sport.”.

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Above King Tse Tak-wah wears Kenzo outfit

King Tse Tak-wah wears Kenzo outfit

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The athlete recalls that, standing atop the podium in Paris, he felt more than 20 years of persistence had finally paid off. “I had finally reached the world’s highest stage. This gold medal was a reward; an acknowledgement of my journey from an unknown athlete to someone recognised and followed by the people of Hong Kong.”

Tse has cerebral palsy, which affects movement and posture. He competes under boccia’s BC3 classification, which is for those with very severe impairments in all four limbs and those who may have arm movement but are unable to throw a boccia ball consistently with speed. “The most challenging part of boccia is that every round can be different; even if the starting position is the same, the strategy and technique in each round can be completely different,” says Tse. “Being able to control each technique and strategy to outplay your opponent gives me a great sense of accomplishment.”

Above King Tse Tak-wah wears Kenzo outfit

King Tse Tak-wah wears Kenzo outfit

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As a full-time athlete, Tse has a rigorous training plan; he participates in four or five international competitions a year, which he says can be stressful. Focus and putting in effort are key: “Training can be tedious, as many times you are practising the same thing over and over. Mastery of techniques comes from constant trial and error, failing—and trying again until you succeed.” The sport has taught him “you need to work hard in anything you do,” he adds. “You can’t rely on luck and get lazy—because luck doesn’t always last. Only through continuous, persistent effort can you achieve the results you want. Sometimes, even if you don’t get the best outcome, you’ll still gain something valuable in the process.”

You can’t rely on luck and get lazy—because luck doesn’t always last

- King Tse Tak-wah -

Tse says his next goal is to qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics. He wants to “stand on the podium” there, as well as at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games in Japan in 2026 and the National Games of China in November next year, of which Hong Kong is one of the hosts. He also has dreams for the para-athlete community. “I hope more para-athletes will be brave enough to express themselves and believe that they have the ability to compete on the world stage against top athletes. If I can do it, I believe others can too.

Need to know: What is boccia?

Boccia was first introduced at the Paralympics in 1984 and has no Olympic equivalent. It is a precision ball sport, where players throw, kick or use a ramp to propel a ball onto the court, with the goal of getting closest to a “jack” ball. It is similar to bocce and designed for athletes with a disability affecting locomotor function.

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