Asian Para Games: Toh Wei Soong adds two more wins for three-gold haul
He is the only Singapore gold medallist in Hangzhou, after winning the 50m freestyle and butterfly (S7) finals
SINGAPORE — Para swimmer Toh Wei Soong added two more gold medals on the penultimate day of competition at the 2023 Asian Para Games, winning both the men's 50m freestyle and butterfly (S7) finals on Friday (27 October).
The 25-year-old - who had already won a gold (men's 100m backstroke) and a silver (men's 400m free) at the Games - clocked 28.81 seconds in the men’s 50m freestyle final to finish ahead of China’s Wang Jingang (30.39sec) and Huang Xianquan (31.18sec) at the Hangzhou Aquatic Sports Arena.
About an hour later, he was on the starting blocks again, and powered to victory in the 50m butterfly final in 30.49sec. Huang was second (32.17sec) while India’s Suyash Narayan Jadhav was third (32.22sec).
Toh thus improved on his two-gold, one-bronze showing in the previous Asian Para Games edition in Jakarta in 2018, and his three gold-winning times in Hangzhou were good enough to qualify him for the 2024 Paris Paralympics in the three events.
Para-archer Nur Syahidah Alim also clinched a silver medal in the women’s individual compound open competition on Friday for her first Asiad medal, after losing 144-142 to India’s Devi Sheetal in the gold-medal match.
Toh is Team Singapore's only gold medallist at the Games, after the contingent finished their events with three golds, three silvers and two bronzes, compared to their three-gold, two-silver, five-bronze effort in 2018.
The contingent had suffered a setback in their medal hunt just before the Games began, as top para swimmers Yip Pin Xiu and Sophie Soon saw their events cancelled due to a lack of competitors in their classifications.
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