Swimmer Toh Wei Soong smashed the men's 50m freestyle S7 final to secure Singapore's second gold medal at the 2023 Asian Para Games.
He finished first place in 28.81 seconds and set a new Games record in Hangzhou, China.
Toh clinches 2 gold & 1 silver
Toh beat China's Wan Jingang (30.39 sec) and Huang Xianquan (31.18 sec), who won silver and bronze respectively.
S7 category is one of the para-swimming classifications to differentiate swimmers based on their level of disability. Swimmers in this class have high-functioning arms and trunk, but limited leg function.
The 25-year-old swimmer has transverse myelitis, a condition that causes inflammation of the spinal cord, which has affected his ability to walk since young.
This is Toh's third medal at the current Games, and his sixth Asiad medal since 2018. Asiad is another term for the Asian Games.
Toh won the nation's first gold medal on Oct. 26 in the men's 100m backstroke final.
Three days ago on Oct. 24, Toh clinched silver in the men's 400m freestyle in the S7 category.
He will also be expected to compete in the men’s 50m fly S7 later today at 7:02pm.
As a recipient of the Sport Singapore's Sport Excellence Scholarship (spexScholarship), Toh receives an "enhanced level of support" together with selected athletes.
He is currently reading philosophy, political science and economics at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and NUS College as an undergraduate.
TeamSG has 7 medals in total so far
With Toh's two golds, Singapore now has a haul of seven medals - two golds, three silvers, and two bronzes.
Para-archer Nur Syahidah Alim bagged a silver medal in the Women Individual Compound Open for para-archery on Oct. 27 before Toh's event. This is Syahidah's first-ever Para Asiad medal.
Lawn bowlers Faridah Salleh and Khirmern Mohamad won one silver and one bronze respectively on Oct. 25, whereas tennis player Claire Toh got bronze on Oct. 24.
Swimmers Sophie Soon and Yip Pin Xiu are not competing in the current games because of insufficient competitors, The Straits Times reported on Oct. 18. Their events have been cancelled.
33 para-athletes will be competing at the Asian Para Games from Oct. 22 to 28. They are representing Singapore across nine spots - archery, athletics, badminton, boccia, lawn bowls, powerlifting, shooting, swimming, and table tennis.
Top image from tohweisoong/Instagram.
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