Thais exceed Asean Para Games target

Thais exceed Asean Para Games target

Kingdom finish second behind hosts Indonesia in Solo

Main contributors: The Thai boccia team celebrate their success at the Asean Para Games.
Main contributors: The Thai boccia team celebrate their success at the Asean Para Games.

Thailand finished second overall at the 11th Asean Para Games in Solo, Indonesia, which ended yesterday.

The Thais took home 116 gold, 111 silver and 90 bronze medals, behind Indonesia who claimed 171 golds, 138 silvers and 110 bronzes.

The hosts surpassed their target of winning 104 golds with a large number of the haul coming from athletics, which contributed 57 golds, 41 silvers and 24 bronzes.

Indonesia were crowned overall champions for the third time after their success in 2014 and 2017.

Malaysia won their only overall title in the inaugural Games on home soil in 2001.

The 10th Asean Para Games in Manila in 2020 were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Indonesian team were clearly a cut above the rest, pulling away from their rivals on the very first day of competition and dominating in at least seven sports -- athletics (57 golds), para-badminton (13), judo (nine), chess (13), powerlifting (18), swimming (29) and table tennis (27) -- which paved the way for their convincing win.

Indonesia are the first hosts to emerge overall champions since Thailand achieved the feat in 2008.

Among Thailand's successful athletes at Solo 2022 were the boccia team which won eight of 11 gold medals on offer.

Paralympic champion Pongsakorn Paeyo won his third gold in the T53 wheelchair racing while Tokyo Games winner Athiwat Paeng-Nuea took the T54 title.

Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) governor Gongsak Yodmani hailed his athletes' performances which surpassed the target of winning 70 gold medals.

He said the SAT, other agencies and sponsors would look after disabled athletes and find jobs for them.

Meanwhile, Vietnam, the original hosts of the 11th Asean Para Games, ended their campaign in the top-three bracket with athletics (13 golds), chess (13), powerlifting (10) and swimming (23) as the contingent's major contributors.

Vietnam hosted the SEA Games, postponed from last year, in May.

Aided by their golden haul of 18 titles in swimming, Malaysia also surpassed their target with 34 golds, 19 silvers and 14 bronzes.

The Philippines maintained their 2017 position as the fifth-best nation with a 28-31-43 haul while Myanmar came in sixth (14-12-16) followed by Singapore in seventh place with seven gold, nine silver and 11 bronze medals.

Cambodia, participating with a large contingent in preparation as hosts of next year's Asian Para Games, improved their standing, climbing two rungs up from 10th in 2017 to eighth in Solo with a six gold, nine silver and 11 bronze medals.

Timor Leste have five gold medals to show while Laos and Brunei failed to bring home a single gold medal.

Cambodia will host the SEA Games and Asean Para Games next year.

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