September 3, 2024
JAKARTA – Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani received on Monday their first Paralympics gold medal in the mixed doubles para badminton all-Indonesia final in Paris, the first of several expected in the sport over the coming days, as the country ramps up its hunt for medals after maiden wins in boccia over the weekend.
In the mixed doubles’ SL3/SU5 category final, Oktila and Ramdani won against fellow Indonesian shuttlers Khalimatus Sadiyah and Fredy Setiawan, who snatched the silver medal.
The SL3/SU5 category is for athletes who play standing with a lower limb impairment and those with impairment of the upper limbs, including the playing or non-playing hand.
Also on Monday, shuttler Qonitah Ikhtiar Syakuroh bagged a silver medal in the women’s singles SL3 category after losing to China’s Xiao Zuxian.
Indonesia had collected one gold, four silver and two bronze medals by the fifth day of the 2024 Paris Games. Among Southeast Asian nations, Indonesia ranks third after Thailand and Singapore, which have collected more gold medals.
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 over the weekend.
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 on Sunday.
Read also: Indonesia’s Paralympians clinch maiden medals in boccia
Earlier that evening, Gischa, 19, triumphed 5-2 over Northern 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 the women’s match, 21-year-old Afrizal beat Great 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 designed to be played by people with cerebral palsy, boccia is a precision ball game similar to lawn bowling that made its Paralympic debut 40 years ago. Now, the sport includes athletes with impairments that affect motor skills, according to the International Paralympics Committee.
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 maneuver 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-meter sprint on Saturday with a time of 11.26 seconds.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo congratulated the boccia athletes on X.
“This is a new history for us – for the first time Indonesia sent boccia athletes to the Paralympics. Their achievements are an inspiration [for us all] to make Indonesia shine on the international stage,” Jokowi said.
Boccia made its Paralympics debut at the New York Paralympics in 1984 and has grown in popularity since then. It is one of two sports at Paris this year without an Olympic counterpart.
In a different X post, Jokowi congratulated Saptoyogo, saying: “The Asian record has been broken!”
With a time of 11.26 seconds, Saptoyogo set a new Asian record, beating the Asian record he set at the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris in July of last year – at 11.27 seconds. He won a silver medal at the time.
The current world record for men’s T37 category 100-meter sprint is held by Nick Mayhugh of the United States, set at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021 with 10.95 seconds.
Several other Indonesian para-athletes are also in contention for medals over the coming days.