The Indonesian para-swimming team managed to secure seven gold medals on the first day of the competition in the 2022 ASEAN Para Games, which was held at Jatidiri Stadium here on Monday.
The first gold medal was bagged by Aris Wibawa in the men's 100 meters breaststroke SB7 event, with the fastest time of 1 minute 34.46 seconds.
Wibawa managed to beat Cambodia’s Khouy Koy, who logged 1 minute 39.54 seconds and Vietnam's Ho Van Dao, who clocked 1 minute 47.36 seconds.
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Rino Saputra took the second gold by beating his Vietnamese and Thai competitors in the men’s 100 m freestyle S9 event with a time of 1 minute 4.72 seconds.
Zaki Zulkarnain grabbed the third gold for Indonesia in the men's 100 m freestyle S8 with a time of 1 minute 3.50 seconds, beating Thailand and Vietnam.
Tangklisan Steven Sualang took the fourth gold in the men's 50 m backstroke S10, while Meliana Ratih Pratama snatched the fifth gold in the women's 50 m backstroke S14.
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The sixth and seventh medals were won in the relay category, specifically the 4x100 m mixed style (49 points) and 4x100 m freestyle (34 points).
Indonesian para-swimming coach coordinator Dimin said that the team aimed to collect 10 medals, but failed to clinch gold in three events.
"The total number of medals today comprises seven gold (medals), nine silver medals, and seven bronze medals," he informed.
The team failed to bag gold medals in three events because their opponents emerged stronger despite the setback from the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Dimin said he is optimistic that the para-swimming team's 27-gold medal target will be achieved since there could be surprise wins in unprioritized events.
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Translator: Zuhdiar Laeis, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2022
