JAKARTA: Paralympians Bintang Satria Herlangga, Gischa Zayana and Muhamad Afrizal Syafa handed Indonesia three of its first-ever medals in boccia with a silver and two bronze, bringing the country's tally to four on Day 3 of the 2024 Paris Games.
Twenty-two-year-old Bintang snatched a second silver medal for Indonesia after losing 6-1 to Thailand's two-time gold medalist Worawut Saengampa in the final for the individual men's BC2 category held at the South Paris Arena late Sunday (Sept 1).
Prior to that, Gischa, 19, triumphed 5-2 over North Ireland's Claire Taggart, the current world number one in the individual women's BC2 category, gifting her country a bronze – Indonesia's maiden Paralympic medal in the sport.
After that match, 21-year-old Afrizal beat Britain's three-time Paralympian gold medalist David Smith 5-3 in the individual men's BC1 bronze medal match, broadcast live on Youtube on Sunday.
Originally developed for people with coordination impairments, boccia is a precision ball game similar to lawn bowling that made its Paralympic debut 40 years ago.
It is one of two sports at Paris this year without an Olympic counterpart, according to the Paris Games official website.
Athletes compete in wheelchairs within four classes depending on the impact their impairments have on their ability to perform the sport.
BC1 athletes have an assistant to manoeuvre the wheelchair and play the ball with their hands or feet. BC2 athletes can throw without assistance, and in BC3, athletes may use a pointer, a ramp and support from a Sport Assistant, who also receives a medal if they win.
The silver and double bronze in boccia gives Indonesia its second, third and fourth medals overall, after 25-year-old Paralympian Saptoyogo Purnomo grabbed silver in the men's T37 category 100-metre sprint on Saturday with a time of 11.26 seconds.
Indonesia is also guaranteed gold and silver medals in the upcoming SL3-SU5 para badminton mixed doubles final match between Leani Ratri-Hikmat Ramdhan and Fredy Setiawan-Khalimatus Sadiyah, to be held on Monday.
Several other para-athletes are also in contention for medals over the coming days. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
