Malaysia exceeds 16-gold target with a haul of 36 gold medals at APG

SOLO (INDONESIA): Malaysia ended the last day of competition at the 11th ASEAN Para Games here with 12 gold, six silver and seven bronze medals.

The haul brings Malaysia's total to 36 gold, 20 silver and 14 bronze, an achievement that exceeds the 16 gold target set for this edition, and a testament to the strong fighting spirit displayed by the 70-strong contingent who competed throughout the entire six days of competition that began after the opening ceremony on July 30.

The historic gold medal won by Mohammad Yusshazwan Yusuf- Abu Samah Borhan in the men's doubles wheelchair tennis event today is a fitting bonus as it is the first time Malaysia won the event at the APG, beating Indonesians Kevin Sanjaya-Agus Fitriadi 6-4, 6-3 at Lapangan Tenis Manahan.

Meanwhile, the badminton team ended their campaign in Edutorium Universiti Muhammadiyah Surakarta (UMS) with three gold, one silver and four bronze medals.

Key highlights include 2020 Tokyo Paralympics champion Cheah Liek Hou defending his men's singles SU5 (physical disability) title, and wheelchar badminton player Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli winning not only the men's single WH1 gold but also the men's doubles WH1-WH2 gold with Noor Azwan Noorlan.

The weightlifting squad performed admirably winning three gold medals, two through Nicodemus Manggoi Moses in the overall event and the best lift for the men's 86 kilogramme (kg) events, and one through Bryan Junency Gustin in the men's overall 80 kg event.

The swimming squad also did well at the Games, with two golds, courtesy of Muhammad Nur Syaiful Zulkafli in the men's 100 metre (m) freestyle S5 (phyiscal disability) event and Abd Halim Mohammad in the men's 50m breaststroke (physical disability) event.

On the archery field in Kota Barat Stadium, compound archer G. Daneshan was on target winning two golds through the mixed team event with Nur Jannaton Abdul Jalil and the men's team event with Wiro Julin.

The table tennis squad celebrated the end of their campaign with an all-Malaysian final in the men's singles Class 11 (intellectual disability) between Jennahtul Fahmi Ahmad Jennah and compatriot Mohd Hazlin Abdullah, the former winning the gold and the latter having to be satisfied with the silver.

The APG will end with the closing ceremony, scheduled at 7 pm Saturday (Aug 6) at Manahan Stadium here, with Indonesian President Joko Widodo reportedly being in attendance.

-- BERNAMA