National contingent surpass target

athletes who competed in the Indonesia Asian Para Games can hold their heads up high after ending their campaign with two more gold medals than the official target set for them.

The Malaysian contingent amassed 17 gold, 26 silver and 25 bronze medals to take eighth place overall in Jakarta.

It is Malaysia’s best performance in the Games since it was first introduced in 2010. At the Incheon edition four years ago Malaysia finished with 15 gold, 20 silver and 27 bronze medals.

The final day of competition yesterday saw cyclists Afiq Afify Rizan and Nur Azlia Syafinaz Mohd Zais winning the men’s and women’s one kilometre (B) time trial respectively.

Azlia won in a time of one minute and 16.839 seconds, while teammate Nur Syahida Tajudin (1:18.795s) clinched bronze. Indonesia’s Sugiyanti Sri (1:17.717s) took silver.

Afiq delivered Malaysia’s 17th gold at the Games after clocking 1:03.942s — a new Games record — with teammate Aiman Asyraff Ahmad Bajuri coming in second in a time of 1:05.240s. South Korean Kim Jungbeen (1:06.491s) took third.

“I have been waiting eagerly to make my first Asian Para Games appearance and it feels great to be able to break the record,” said Afiq. “Obviously, I am also very happy to win Malaysia’s 17th and final gold medal at the Games. I want to thank my family, coach and friends for their support.”

Mohd Yusof Hazizi Shaharuddin (1:13.656s) and Zuhairie Ahmad Tarmizi (1:09.397s) did well to clinch silver and bronze in the men’s C1-2-3 and C4-5 1km time trials respectively.

Malaysia also added three bronze from badminton competition through Cheah Liek Hou (men’s singles SU5), Liek HouHairul Fozi Saaba as well as Mohammad Faris Ahmad AzriAmyrul Yazid Ahmad Sibi with both pairs taking bronze in the SU5 men’s doubles event.

Track and field athletes contributed the most gold medals (eight) at the Games and also broke two world records through Ridzuan Puzi and Abdul Latif Romly.

The cycling squad delivered five gold medals while tenpin bowling (two), swimming (one) and table tennis (one) were the other contributors.

China emerged as the overall champions with a massive 172-8859 medals haul. The next edition of the Games will be held in Hangzhou, China in 2022.