Indonesia athlete inspires with comeback at Asian Para Games

Shakeel spins Durrar Indians to semifinal berth

JAKARTA, Oct 13, (AFP): Indonesian Muhammad Fadli Imamuddin capped off a remarkable comeback from a career-ending motorcycle crash by winning three medals as a cyclist at the 2018 Asian Para Games.

Imamuddin, known to his fans as Fadli, scooped gold, silver and bronze with a three-man team in the men’s team sprint event in Jakarta.

His win Friday was the first gold medal for the Indonesian para cycling team.

“Fadli’s victory has encouraged asking if he was interested in competing as a para cycling athlete.

Buoyed by the opportunity to become a world champion, Fadli says he jumped at the chance and immediately began training.

Within a year of having his leg amputated, he finished fourth at the 2017 Asian Para Cycling Championship.

“When people were still crying and lamenting about my fate, I had already moved on and tried to be active once again,” Fadli recently told AFP while training for the Games.

His silver-medal finish on Monday was flush with symbolism as it was won at the same venue as the crash which ended his illustrious motorcycle career.

But Fadli’s return to sport – less than three years after his accident – has been inspiring for other Indonesian para athletes.

“He is an icon. In para cycling he is considered a role model and the big brother for all athletes,” Fadilah Umar, the head coach national para-cycling team said.

Despite his impressive three times medal haul, Fadli said he had bigger goals in mind while competing at the Games.

He said he wanted to become an inspiration for his son, who was born just two weeks after his accident, and for people with disabilities who wanted to become professional athletes.

“My son is my biggest supporter, if I didn’t do anything I would not be able to become the best role model for him,” he said.

The third 2018 Asian Para Games concludes in Jakarta on Saturday. hour after the suspension and England were given victory under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern run rate system.

Only 15 overs of the first ODI between the two sides was possible on Wednesday before the game had to be abandoned without a result.

A warm-up game against a Sri Lanka Cricket XI on Oct 6 did not start because of rain.

“We have had a halted start in training and the first game with the rain,” said Morgan.

“I wouldn’t say it was our best game.

The batting managed to scrape something together. We should have gone past a par score but ended up scraping to that.”

Morgan and Root put England on target to reach 300 but veteran paceman Lasith Malinga took critical wickets at the start and in the lower order to finish on five for 44 on the tricky Dambulla pitch.

He claimed England opener Jason Roy with the fourth ball of the day, brilliantly ended Morgan’s innings caught and bowled and also took Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Liam England cricket captain Eoin Morgan (right) is watched by Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella as he plays a shot during the second one day international (ODI) cricket match between Sri Lanka and England at the Rangiri

Dambulla International Cricket Stadium in Dambulla on Oct 13. (AFP) Dawson cheaply.

Malinga shook England, who slipped from 209 for four. Tailender Adil Rashid’s 19 runs off 15 balls

Duraar Indians cricket team Durrar Indians clinically defeated the Royal Stars by 9 wickets in the ongoing MG7 tournament which is being played at the Kabd Ground.

Having lost the toss and asked to field first, Durrar bowlers were all over the Royal Star batsmen.

Tight spells by Mushy, Preetham and Deb with support from Fred who bagged one wicket for four runs and Madhur 2 for eight; the day clearly belonged to Shakeel Ahmad who utilized the pitch condition as his strength dismissed 5 batsmen for just 14 runs in his allotted 4 overs.

The Royal Star batsmen were bowled out for 100 in 18.4 overs of the allotted 20.

In reply skipper Fredrick along with seasonal pro Deb put on 92 runs for the first wicket partnership in 66 balls in testing conditions.

helped raise England from 254 for nine to a respectable score.

Chris Woakes was England’s most threatening bowler, taking

Fred scored yet another well made 52 runs and Deb remained unbeaten on 43 to script an easy victory.

Shakeel Ahmad was adjudged man of the match for the second consecutive time.

In another encounter, the Indian Tigers won by 19 runs against Global Champs. Having opted to bat, the Indian Tigers put on a competitive score – 166 for 5.

Lateef top-scored with 49 runs, skipper Ronald 36 runs and a late buzz by Muzaffar who scored 22 off 15 balls including 2 huge sixes.

In reply the Global Champs were cruising well but fumbled in the face of tight spin bowling by Salim who bagged one wicket for 23 runs, Zahoor 2 for 30, Vijay 1 for 27 and Muzzafar 2 for 27 runs.

The Man of the Match Ronald made all the difference with his tight spell of 4 wickets for 23 runs.

three for 26 off just five overs.

Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal bemoaned the loss of his top order batsmen.