Commonwealth Games: Toh Wei Soong earns silver in 50m free (S7) final
SINGAPORE â Para-swimmer Toh Wei Soong clinched a silver medal in the men's 50m freestyle (S7) final at the Sandwell Aquatics Centre on Monday (1 August), earning Singapore's third medal of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
The 23-year-old, clocked 29.10sec to finish behind Australia's Matthew Levy (28.95sec), and improve on his bronze-medal showing in the same event at the 2018 Games in Gold Coast. South Africa's Christian Sadie came in third in 29.78sec.
Toh had made his Paralympic debut at the 2021 Tokyo Games, and narrowly missed out on a medal in the men's 50m butterfly (S7) as he came in fourth while setting a national record. He also came in seventh in the men's 50m free (S7) final in Tokyo, also setting a national record of 28.65sec in his race.
Men's paddlers clinch thrilling win over England in team s-finals
At the National Exhibition Centre, Singapore pulled off a thrilling 3-2 victory over top-seeded England in the men's table tennis team semi-finals to book a gold-medal showdown with defending champions India on Tuesday.
The youthful team of local-born paddlers - who have an average age of just 21.2 years old - showed composure amid the partisan home crowd to secure at least a silver medal in the event.
Koen Pang, 20, and Izaac Quek, 17, took the crucial first match when the doubles pair defeated Liam Pitchford and Samuel Walker 11-9, 11-7, 11-7. However, Clarence Chew could not overcome his inferior world ranking to Paul Drinkhall (133rd to 74th) as he lost the first singles match 8-11, 11-9, 4-11, 10-12.
Pang put Singapore 2-1 ahead after he defeated Pitchford 11-7, 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, but Drinkhall levelled the tie again with a 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 victory over Quek.
It was left to Chew, the oldest and most experienced player in the Singapore team at age 26, to try and take the winning point against Walker. And he duly managed the feat, winning 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 11-6 over his world No.92 opponent and collapsing on the court in joy as his teammates mobbed him.
There was no joy for Singapore's shuttlers, however, as they lost their mixed team semi-final tie 0-3 against India. They were also rocked by news that doubles player Loh Kean Hean - world champion Loh Kean Yew's brother - had tested positive for COVID-19 and was ruled out of the semi-final after going into isolation.
Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.
