Felix Ardi Yudha, Muhamad Afrizal Syafa and Gischa Zayana of Indonesia huddle with their coaches during a preliminary boccia match in the mixed team BC1/BC2 competition held at the South Paris Arena in Paris, on Sept. 3, 2024. (Reuters/Jennifer Lorenzini)
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ndonesia’s boccia athletes have capped off a spirited debut at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games by clinching a medal in all four of the categories they competed in, despite just missing out on the sport’s biggest prize.
Indonesia lost 7-6 to China in the mixed team BC1/BC2 gold medal match on Thursday, although it still won a medal in the three-a-side wheelchair event on the first try.
The team snatched silver after charging through the preliminary and knockout stage events, besting the Netherlands, hosts France, Great Britain and Japan.
It only lost to China’s Yan Zhiqiang, Zhang Qi and Lan Zhijian, who dominated the final match from the get-go to secure an historic first win after 28 years of competing in the mixed team class.
Nevertheless, Indonesia's Felix Ardi Yudha captained the mixed gender team to its first medal finish, allowing romantic partners Gischa Zayana and Muhamad Afrizal Syafa to add silver to the bronze medals that they won in their respective individual numbers.
Earlier in the week, Bintang Satria Herlangga snagged Indonesia's first silver medal in the men's BC2 class individual event after facing off against Thailand's two-time gold medalist, Worawut Saengampa.
Boccia is one of two Paralympic sports with no Olympic equivalent. It was originally developed for people with coordination impairments, but now has several categories to include individuals with various degrees of disability.
The sport has four classes. BC1 athletes typically use an electric wheelchair and BC3 athletes can use a ramp to propel the balls, with players in both classes able to be assisted by a person who carries out their commands. BC2 and BC4 athletes compete independently.
Thursday's boccia silver medal is Indonesia's 13th medal overall at this year's Games, ending a successful national campaign that saw the Paralympics team gather more medals than the 2021 Tokyo Games.
With one gold, seven silver and five bronze medals, Team Indonesia surpassed expectations to place third among Southeast Asian nations in Paris after Thailand (5-7-9) and Singapore (2-1-0).
Shuttlers Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani won the gold in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 para badminton event, beating out their compatriots Khalimatus Sadiyah and Fredy Setiawan in the final.
The para badminton team also managed to grab silver and bronze in the individual men's SU5 category event, two silver each in the individual women's SL3 and SL4 numbers and a bronze in the mixed doubles SH6 category.
Last week, Saptoyogo Purnomo grabbed the country's first medal in Paris after finishing second in the men's 100-meter T37-class sprint. He will run again in the men's 200m T37 race on Saturday.
On Friday, para-cyclist Muhammad Fadli Immanuddin will attempt to medal in the men's C4-5 road race. (tjs)