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KUALA LUMPUR: The Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games ended on Saturday with the Malaysian contingent achieving their six-gold target with a haul of six gold, eight silver and 13 bronze medals. Timesport takes a look at their performances.
BEST ATHLETES
NUR SYAIFUL ZULKAFLI (PARA SWIMMING)
Nur Syaiful retained his men's 100m breaststroke SB4 title, breaking the meet record twice in a single day. He clocked 1:41.55s in the heats before lowering it again to 1:41.44s in the final, while also adding bronze in the men's 100m freestyle S5.
BONNIE BUNYAU GUSTIN (PARA POWERLIFTING)
Paralympic champion Bonnie once again dominated, retaining his men's 72kg title with a 225kg lift.
BEST TEAM
CHEAH LIEK HOU AND FARIS AHMAD AZRI (PARA BADMINTON)
Liek Hou-Faris showcased supreme court chemistry to capture the men's doubles SU5 gold medal. It marked Liek Hou's third Games gold across a 12-year span.
OUTSTANDING ATHLETES
ZUHAIRIE AHMAD TARMIZI (PARA CYCLING)
Zuhairie delivered Malaysia's first gold of the Games, in the men's C5 1,000m time trial, setting a Games record of 1:04.882 in qualifying.
WONG KAR GEE (PARA ATHLETICS)
Kar Gee upgraded his 2018 silver into gold in the men's long jump T12 with a leap of 6.74m — delivering the crucial sixth gold medal that met Malaysia's overall target. He won with a leap of 6.74m in his first attempt.
LATIF ROMLY (PARA ATHLETICS)
The long jump king leaped to gold again in the men's T20 for a fourth consecutive Games title. World record holder Latif (7.67m) posted a winning leap of 7.39m in Nagoya.
GAMES RECORDS BROKEN
Nur Syaiful Zulkafli
Event: Men's 100m breaststroke SB4
Syaiful lowered the Games record twice in a single day, posting 1:41.55s in the morning heats before returning in the evening to touch home in 1:41.44s to win gold.
Zuhairie Ahmad Tarmizi
Event: Men's C4-C5 1,000m time trial
Zuhairie shattered the Games record of 1:07.311s with 1:04.882s during qualifying, delivering Malaysia's first gold of the Games.
SPECIAL MENTIONS
ANGELINE MELISSA LAWAS (BOCCIA)
Angeline produced a historic run in the women's individual BC1, battling world-class opposition before earning a landmark silver.
EDDY BERNARD (PARA ATHLETICS)
Eddy grabbed a brilliant silver in the men's T44 long jump with a leap of 6.34m, setting a Games record in his classification.
SITI NORAIDAH SUHERMAN (PARA ATHLETICS)
Siti claimed silver in the women's shot put F20 with a throw of 11.41m.
YUSOF HAFIZI SHAHARUDDIN (PARA CYCLING)
Yusof won silver in the men's C1-3 1000m time trial and added bronze in the men's C1-2 3,000m individual pursuit.
HALIM MOHAMMAD (PARA SWIMMING)
Halim produced a gutsy effort to claim silver in the men's 100m breaststroke SB8 in 1:14.45.
AMMAR AIMAN NOR AZMI (PARA ATHLETICS)
Ammar Aiman fell heartbreakingly short of retaining his Games crown, finishing just 0.09 seconds behind Saudi Arabia's Idris Sufyani.
KHAIRUL HAZWAN WAHAB (PARA CYCLING)
Khairul Hazwan Wahab came agonisingly close to gold in the men's B 1000m time trial, clocking 1:03.688, just 0.887 seconds behind Japan's Kazuhei Kimura.
ZIYAD (PARA ATHLETICS)
Four-time Games champion Ziyad saw his reign in the men's shot put F20 end after settling for silver with 16.61m.
QUOTES
"I had to change my shoes at the last minute, which slightly disrupted my rhythm."
— Latif Romly (para athletics)
"At the last Commonwealth Games, I won bronze, so I came here determined to bring home the gold."
— Bonnie Bunyau Gustin (para powerlifting)
"I'm glad to win an Asian Para gold after 12 years."
— Cheah Liek Hou (para badminton)
"I will come back as a new Ziyad in 2027."
— Ziyad Zolkefli (para athletics)
Beneath Malaysia's haul of six gold medals and memorable individual performances in Nagoya, lies a bigger question: who will step up when the country's top para athletes retire?
Malaysia finished 12th among 31 countries with six golds, eight silvers and 13 bronzes. However, the 27-medal haul was down from the 39 medals Malaysia collected in Hangzhou in 2022, where the contingent won seven golds, 15 silvers and 17 bronzes.
Malaysia must now find a way to turn those near-misses into golds while preparing the next generation. Ziyad, Bonnie and Latif have carried the country for years, but Malaysia can't rely on familiar names forever.
Nagoya showed Malaysia can still compete with Asia's best, but the question is whether the country can produce new champions when the old guard is no longer there to do the heavy lifting.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd