Silver for boccia pair, Singapore finish Asian Para Games without gold for 1st time since 2010

SINGAPORE — It is a case of what could have been for Team Singapore as they ended their week-long campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games without a gold medal.

Boccia duo Aloysius Gan and Nurulasyiqah Mohammad Taha fell at the final hurdle in the mixed pairs BC3 event as they lost 4-2 to home favourites Sayaka Sekine and Kazuki Takahashi today (Oct 24).

At the Nagoya City General Gymnasium Rainbow Hall, the Japanese pair played with pinpoint precision as they took control of the match, winning the first three ends 1-0, 2-0 and 1-0.

Their lead proved to be insurmountable for the Singaporeans. Despite their best efforts, Gan and Nurulasyiqah only managed to get two consolation points in the final end.

Reflecting on their performance in Aichi-Nagoya, team captain Nurulasyiqah said: "No regrets at all… We gave our best, enjoyed the competition and are proud of what we have achieved together.

"We have come a long way, and the progress we have made is a reflection of the many hours of training and hard work behind the scenes.

"I am especially happy to have had this opportunity to compete alongside Aloysius again and to see our efforts come together in this way is incredibly rewarding. To finish the Games with another medal for Singapore makes this moment even more special."

En route to the final, Gan and Nurulasyiqah, who were also Singapore's first gold medal winners at the World Boccia Championships in September, had defeated India, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong in the pool stage before edging past Thailand in the semi-final.

Looking ahead, the pair will take a "well-deserved break" before returning to training.

"Our recent World Championships success has also been an encouraging step in our journey towards LA28, but we know there is still plenty of work ahead," added Nurulasyiqah.

"For now, we want to enjoy this moment, reflect on what we have achieved and continue building on our progress."

With their final-day silver, Singapore's 20-member contingent will return home with a record 11-medal haul of six silvers and five bronzes - though it is also the first time since the inaugural edition in 2010 that the Republic has failed to clinch a gold.

Para swimmer Toh Wei Soong notched five medals (two silver, three bronze) this time, while archer Nur Syahidah Alim and boccia players Jovin Tan and Gan won a silver each.

Para-cyclist and Games debutante Amelia Tan, along with Jeralyn Tan (boccia), rounded out the tally with bronzes in their respective events.

At the last edition in Hangzhou in 2023, the 33-strong contingent brought home three golds, three silvers and two bronzes.

This article was first published in The Straits Times . Permission required for reproduction.

新加坡——对于新加坡队来说，这是一次令人扼腕的比赛，他们在为期一周的爱知-名古屋亚洲残疾人运动会上未能获得金牌。

博恰组合 Aloysius Gan 和 Nurulasyiqah Mohammad Taha 在今天（10 月 24 日）的混合双人 BC3 比赛中，在最后一关失利，以 2-4 输给了主场作战的热门选手关根沙耶香和高桥和树。

在名古屋市综合体育馆彩虹馆，这对日本组合发挥精准，掌控了比赛，以 1-0、2-0 和 1-0 的比分赢得了前三局。

新加坡队最终还是无法撼动他们的领先优势。尽管甘和努鲁拉西卡竭尽全力，但在最后一局她们只拿到了两分安慰分。

回顾在爱知名古屋的表现，队长努鲁拉西卡说道：“一点也不后悔……我们尽了全力，享受了比赛，并为我们共同取得的成就感到自豪。”

“我们已经取得了长足的进步，我们所取得的成就反映了幕后无数个小时的训练和辛勤工作。”

“我特别高兴能再次与阿洛伊修斯并肩作战，看到我们的努力以这种方式汇聚成一股强大的力量，我感到无比欣慰。为新加坡再添一枚奖牌，让这一刻更加意义非凡。”

在晋级决赛的路上，甘和努鲁拉西卡（她们也是新加坡在9月份世界地掷球锦标赛上获得的第一枚金牌得主）在小组赛阶段击败了印度、中华台北和香港，然后在半决赛中险胜泰国。

展望未来，两人将在重返训练场前享受一段“当之无愧的休息时间”。

“我们最近在世界锦标赛上取得的成功也是我们迈向洛杉矶28奥运会征程中令人鼓舞的一步，但我们知道前方还有很多工作要做，”Nurulasyiqah补充道。

“目前，我们想享受这一刻，回顾我们取得的成就，并继续在此基础上取得进展。”

凭借最后一天的银牌，新加坡 20 人代表团将带着创纪录的 11 枚奖牌（6 枚银牌和 5 枚铜牌）凯旋而归——尽管这也是自 2010 年首届比赛以来，新加坡首次未能获得金牌。

残疾人游泳运动员杜伟松此次斩获五枚奖牌（两枚银牌，三枚铜牌），而射箭运动员努尔·沙希达·阿利姆以及地掷球运动员乔文·谭和甘各获得一枚银牌。

残疾人自行车运动员、首次参加奥运会的阿米莉亚·谭，以及地掷球运动员杰拉琳·谭，在各自的项目中均获得铜牌，为奥运会最终的铜牌数锦上添花。

在 2023 年杭州举行的上一届比赛中，这支由 33 人组成的代表团获得了三枚金牌、三枚银牌和两枚铜牌。

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