PARIS — The wheelchair tennis matches got underway at Roland Garros on Tuesday and the first round immediately saw an upset with Takuya Miki (JPN) taking out the number four seed, Martin de la Puente (ESP) in the first round.
In a tight first set Miki claimed the win 7-5 but things appeared to be stabilizing for de la Puente in the second which he claimed 6-3. Miki stormed back to win the third set 6-4, his second win in a grand slam. What is notable is that the pair both won 111 points but Miki was able to claim far more crucial points to win the match.
The rest of the men’s singles matches went as expected with wins for Alfie Hewett (GBR), Gordon Reid (GBR), Gustavo Fernandez (ARG), Alexander Cataldo (CHI), Tom Egberink (NED), and Tokito Oda (JPN) all in straight sets. Oda had the only scare of the group, only winning the first set on a tie-break 9-7 against Ruben Spaargaren (NED).
Another Asian player produced an upset in the women’s singles with Zhenzhen Zhu (CHN) taking out the number four seed Jiske Griffioen (NED) in straight sets. Zhu was made to work for it, winning the second only on a 7-5 tie-break.
Much like the men’s draw the rest was all straight sets wins for the favorites. Diede De Groot (NED), Aniek Van Koot (NED), Diana Mathewson (USA), Lizy De Greef (NED), Momoko Ohtani (JPN), and Yui Kamiji (JPN).
This year marks an historic tournament in Roland Garros as for the first time there will be youth championships at the grand slam. Tournaments in boys and girls singles and doubles start later this week with four competitors seeking to win the historic honor.
LAHORE, Pakistan — Pakistan’s sports ministry together with the International Tennis Federation and the Pakistan Tennis Federation launched its first wheelchair tennis coaching camp in Lahore on Tuesday.
The camp was the next step in developing wheelchair tennis in Pakistan following on from the first tournament held in Karachi earlier this year.
The PTA announced that secretary Rashid Malik will be overseeing the sport in Punjab province and will act as a coach. He will also be looking for other athletes to join the program.
“This is a commendable effort by Mr. Khalid Rehmani, a pioneer of wheelchair tennis in Pakistan. In Punjab, under the guidance of Mr. Rashid Malik, wheelchair players will receive training and grooming aimed at transforming them into champions.” Said Sports Secretary Shahid Zaman.
Through the partnership with the sports ministry and the ITF the camp will be supplied with rackets and balls. Access to tennis courts will be free of charge for those participating in the training.
“Our primary goal for 2024 is to prepare wheelchair tennis players for the Paris Paralympics and ITF Unilock Asia Region Cup Wheelchair Tennis,” said Khalid Rehmani. “We plan to gather talented wheelchair tennis players from every corner of the country, provide them with training and grooming, and select the best among them for these major events.”
The mention of Paris is an interesting one which may imply that Pakistan has been given a bipatriate invitation to add diversity in the nations in the tournament.
The next step for the PTA will be to introduce wheelchair tennis to the Quetta region.
TOKYO – A wheelchair tennis legend has left the sport as 38-year-old, Japanese superstar, Shingo Kunieda, announced his retirement on Sunday.
After 21 years and a career golden slam, the first man to achieve that feat, Kunieda’s career has come to an end.
“I’ve been thinking about retirement since my dream came true at Tokyo Paralympics,” 38-year-old Kunieda wrote on social media. “Last year, (winning the) Wimbledon singles title for the first time made me feel that my energy was little left to compete. I felt that I have done enough in what I wanted to accomplish and thought it was the right time to retire.”
Kunieda won 50 Grand Slam titles—28 singles and 22 doubles—since joining the tour in 2001. With singles alone, that puts him four ahead of Margaret Court, the most successful non-wheelchair singles player. With 50 Grand Slam titles, he is the most successful Grand Slam champion of any discipline, surpassing Dutch women’s wheelchair athlete Esther Vergeer, who has 48.
His career saw him win the golden slam in both singles and doubles, joining Serena Williams, Dylan Alcott, and Diede De Groot as the only people to achieve the feat.
Kunieda’s retirement leaves a significant prize available at the Australian Open, his world number 1 ranking. His achievements will be near impossible to match, along with his 50 grand slam titles, he won medals at five straight Paralympic Games, capped by a home gold medal in Tokyo in 2021.
It’s fitting that this announcement meant Kunieda’s last match was at the Japan Open Final, a match where he edged Japan’s new young star, Tokito Oda, perhaps passing the torch to the next great Japanese tennis star.
LONDON and BIRMINGHAM, England, United Kingdom – Joachim Gerard claimed his sixth straight grass-court win. In contrast, Andy Lapthorne won a historical event. Gerard claimed his victory at the cinch Championships in London. At the same time, Lapthorne was the winner of the first non-Wimbledon quad grass-court tournament, the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham.
Gerard came to London as the defending Wimbledon champion. He got his grass season off to a perfect start by claiming the cinch Championship. The semi-final was a marathon match at the Queen’s Club in West Kensington. The Belgian needed more than two and a half hours to overcome the number two seed 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-2.
That set up a non-British final, which Gerard made much lighter work of, beating Stephane Houdet (FRA) 6-1, 6-2. By winning this event, Gerard became the first non-British Wheelchair Tennis champion at Queen’s in only the third running of the tournament.
“I’m happy to be back on grass after a long year to wait for it,” Gerard said. “I showed yesterday (against Hewett) that I wanted to do something well. The last few matches were not good, especially against Stephane. I lost at Roland Garros and the French Riviera Open in the last two weeks against him. Grass is a good surface for me, but when I have the mindset like today, I can beat anyone.”
By contrast, a British player won in Birmingham as the Rothesay Classic hosted a quad singles event for the first time. Lapthorne claimed the title, only dropping five games as he cruised past Antony Cotterill and James Shaw to begin his preparations for Wimbledon.
“To be invited to such a great event that the LTA have put on is amazing and to win the first one is always nice. The plan was to come and get a couple of matches on grass. I only managed to get one, but it’s good preparation, and now we roll on towards Wimbledon,” said Lapthorne. “I’m hoping that next year we’re going to have more of the top players come over and play now that this event has taken place. It is obviously vital preparations for Wimbledon to be able to come here and play on great courts.”
That will probably happen going forward, with the Wimbledon quad draw being expanded to eight players, meaning that more will want to get experience on British grass.
There is still one more wheelchair tennis Wimbledon warm-up event with a women’s singles event at the Eastbourne International.
Photo: Joachim Gerard celebrates winning the cinch Championship (LTA)
PARIS – For the first time, a grand slam had a wheelchair singles field of 32, increasing opportunities on the sport’s biggest stage. And with that has come some stunning upsets in Roland Garros with at least one player that would have missed out if it was 16 making the semi-final stages.
The biggest upset in the men’s singles draw is Tokito Ota, ranked ninth in the world, who has set up an all-Japanese semi-final with world number two Shingo Kunieda.
After playing in the new first round, he took out the French legend Nicolas Peifer 6-1, 6-3. After that, he took on Gordon Reid (GBR #4) and again came through in straight sets 6-1, 6-4.
No.2 seed Shingo Kunieda won his men’s wheelchair singles quarter-final against France’s Stephane Houdet.
In the semi-final, he will take on Kunieda, who continued the rough tournament for French players against Japanese players. Kunieda beat Stefane Houdet 6-3, 6-2.
The other semi-final will see the British number one seed, Alfie Hewett, take on Argentina’s number three seed Gustavo Hernandez.
After a bye to the second round, Hewett beat Tom Egerbink 6-1, 6-2. Fernandez also took a bye to the second round and won a challenging first set 6-4 before beating Martin De La Puente (ESP) 6-1 in the second.
Japanese No.2 seed Yui Kamiji
The women’s singles went precisely as the seeding suggested it would. The world number one Diede De Groot (NED) is through to the semis after a 6-2, 6-1 win over Angelica Bernal (COL). She will play Kgothatso Montjane (RSA), who also won through in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.
The other semi-final will pit the second and third players in the world against each other. Anniek Van Koot (NED) came back from a set down to beat Dana Mathewson (USA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Yuji Kamiji won the all-Japanese second round match against Momoko Ohtani in three 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-2.
SYDNEY – Dylan Alcott will be added to Sydney’s Madame Tussauds sports hall, highlighting his status in the Australian sporting landscape.
Alcott sat to have his measurements taken on Friday as the artists prepared to make his sculpture. He will feature alongside other Australian sporting greats, including cricketer Sir Donald Bradman and fellow tennis players Rod Laver and Lleyton Hewitt. By having three tennis players, the museum will create a tennis zone that will include the opportunity to play wheelchair tennis with Alcott.
He will appear in the museum in a replica of the wheelchair he played in as he won the golden slam in 2021. This will make Alcott the first person in a wheelchair to be featured in the museum.
“4.5 million people in Australia are living with a physical or non-physical disability, and we need greater representation of people with a disability in everyday life; being honoured with a wax figure is huge step in achieving that. Thank you to the Madame Tussauds team for helping to celebrate and normalise living with a disability.”
Alcott
Alcott will be dressed in the attire he won his final Grand Slam title, the 2022 Australian Open, and he has provided one of his favorite rackets.
“Dylan Alcott is a true Australian icon. He was the first man in history to achieve a ‘golden slam’ after winning all four grand slam tennis tournaments last year and then gold at the Tokyo Paralympics, but it’s also what he represents off the court that makes him a true champion. Dylan’s advocacy to drive change and represent diversity is awe-inspiring.”
Richard Dilly, General Manager, Madame Tussauds Sydney
Alcott had 100 different measurements taken during the sitting and 300 photos. It will take eight months to make the sculpture, and his figure will be unveiled in late 2022.
CANBERRA, Australia — Wheelchair Tennis superstar Dylan Alcott has been awarded the Australian of the Year award at a ceremony in Canberra on Tuesday night.
Alcott became the first person with a visible disability to be granted the honor, Australia’s highest honor every year. The award was granted on the eve of Australia’s national day, Australia Day, celebrated on January 26th.
Australian of the Year has been awarded for 62 years and is given by a panel that considers one nomination from each Australian state. Alcott had been honored as the Victorian of the Year.
In his award documentation, Alcott was given the award thanks to his golden slam winning year and his work advocating for the disabled community.
His tennis career ended on Wednesday when he competed in the Australian Open Quad Singles final, aiming to go out as a winner.
Beyond his incredible career as a tennis player, Alcott has been determined to make the world more accessible and has advocated for inclusion. Alcott has been handed a big stage. When Australia’s male tennis players aren’t setting the world alight, Alcott has dominated the sport. As a result, he’s used that stage to push for inclusion.
The tennis superstar has become a fixture of Australian media, providing commentary on tennis matches. He also appears on panel shows, showing his comedic chops regularly. Alcott has also hosted a show on Triple J, Australia’s youth alternative radio station.
While Alcott didn’t have the fairy-tale finish to his career, he has achieved something more significant than that, advancing the discussion on accessibility in Australia.
NEW YORK — Before Sunday only one tennis player had ever achieved a calendar year golden slam, Steffi Graf in 1988. Two more players joined that list as Diede de Groot claimed the women’s wheelchair singles and Dylan Alcott claimed the quad singles titles at the US Open.
Both players won in straight sets closing out what had been dominant performances for them through this tournament.
De Groot continued Dutch domination of wheelchair tennis by clinching her golden slam first. She defeated Yui Kamiji 6-3, 6-2 in a rematch of the Tokyo final. It was all about De Groot’s strength, she managed 29 winners to 16 and really punished Kamiji on the second serve. Despite that Kamiji pushed her all the way, managing her two games in the second set on De Groot’s serve.
“So happy to have it. I just can’t wait to go home, celebrate it with my family, friends, everyone that has supported me in the past few weeks,” said De Groot. “I know a lot of people have been watching all of the games. Seeing as there’s a lot of time difference between here and home, and also between Tokyo, I know they’ve been staying up late in the night.”
Alcott ended Niels Vink’s stunning debut in the US Open with his 7-5, 6-2 win in the quad singles final. The experience of the veteran Australian showed in the first set as he dug deep to win the first set 7-5 and avoid a tie break. From there he took a 3-1 30-0 lead which he held on to by holding serve.
“I can’t believe I just won the Golden Slam. I used to hate myself so much, I hated my disability and I didn’t even want to be here anymore but then I found tennis and it changed and saved my life,” said Alcott. “Now I’m the only male ever in any form of tennis to have won the Golden Slam which is pretty cool.”
In the other wheelchair singles final, Shingo Kunieda continued his stunning record at Flushing Meadows as he claimed his eighth title, defending his 2020 crown. He beat Alfie Hewett in the final 6-1, 6-4.
TOKYO — Saturday was the second last day of events at Tokyo 2020 which saw history made in badminton and more team champions crowned.
Indonesian badminton pair makes history
Photo: BWF
History was made on the badminton courts as the Indonesian pair of Greysia Polii and Apriyani Rahayu added Paralympic gold to their Olympic gold won earlier this year. They made light work of the Chinese pair winning 21-18, 21-12 to claim the women’s doubles SL3-SU5. That win made the pair the first people to claim Paralympic and Olympic gold at the same Games.
The honor of being the first Paralympic badminton champion went to Cheah Liek Hou (MAS) as he managed a clinical performance in the men’s SU5.
Home hopes were dashed in the women’s SU5 as Yang Qiu Xia (CHN) defeated Ayako Suzuki convincingly 21-17, 21-9. Japan did manage a gold medal later in the day as the women’s WH1 was won by Sarina Satomi who came back from a game down to beat Sujirat Pookkaham (THA).
Pramod Bhagat (IND) confidently predicted that he would win gold in Tokyo and delivered it by winning the men’s SL3. He claimed the win in two games, claiming a 21-14, 21-17 win, coming back from 4-11 down in the second game.
China claimed two more gold medals to lead the way in the sport, the first came through Qu Zi Mo whose opponent retired while down in the second game in the men’s WH1. An all-Chinese final in the women’s WH2 was claimed by Liu Yu Tong who won both games 21-15.
India claimed gold and silver in the mixed 50m pistol SH1 as the country continued its most successful Paralympic Games ever. The medals took India to 17 medals, four of them gold, coming into these Games India had only won 12 medals in 11 appearances, improving from the previous best of Rio 2016 when four medals were won.
Manish Narwal, at just 19 years old, showed nerves of steel to claim gold, shooting a Paralympic record of 218.2. His teammate, Singhraj Adana, 20 years his senior, claimed his second medal of these Games finishing on 216.7. Adana thanked his wife after claiming silver, her lucky hat doing the trick.
It was a dramatic comeback from the Indian pair who were sitting fourth and fifth at the beginning of the elimination stages but calmed down to get the top two medals.
Azerbaijan athletics success continues
Photo: Lintao Zhang
Azerbaijan continued its best Games with two gold medals in athletics at the National Stadium on Saturday.
Lamiya Valieva claimed gold in the women’s 400m T13, setting a new Paralympic record time of 55.00, Azerbaijan’s first track gold ever. Orkhan Aslanov backed up his teammate claiming gold in the men’s long jump with a leap of 7.36m. After his win, he credited the energy to make the big jump to Valieva’s win energizing him and spurring him on.
There was history for Jordan which claimed its first athletics Paralympic gold medal when Ahmad Hindi won the men’s shot put F34 with a world record throw of 12.15m. By comparison, Hannah Cockroft (GBR) won her seventh gold medal, keeping her perfection intact. Cockroft cruised to the win in the women’s 800m T34, winning by over 10 seconds.
After switching from CP Football when it was removed from the Paralympic program Nick Mayhugh (USA) became a star of athletics and claimed a new world record in the men’s 100m T37. Mayhugh scorched the track running a time of 21.91 finishing over one second clear, vindicating his decision to switch.
Brazil remains perfect
Photo courtesy IBSA Football
There was never a doubt, Brazil continued its Paralympic blind football undefeated record claiming gold against rivals Argentina at Aomi Urban Sports Park with a 1-0 win.
The goal would have been a deserved winner in any football match coming in the 13th minute of the second half. Nonato made a phenomenal run through the Argentine defense weaving between two defenders, powering it with his left foot past the keeper to win gold. Brazil’s defense held firm keeping a clean sheet meaning the side didn’t concede a goal in the tournament.
History was made in the bronze medal match as Morocco wrapped up its stunning tournament with a medal, winning bronze. Continuing to persist with three deep defenders and a lone striker it paid off as the side claimed a 4-0 win.
It only took three minutes for Morocco to open the scoring as Zouhair Snisla ran through the Chinese defense to score. He’d double up two minutes before the break to put his side well and truly in control. He scored two more in the second half to wrap up the win, creating joyous scenes after the match.
Alcott and Kunieda claim fourth gold medals
Photo: Paralympics Australia
Dylan Alcott (AUS) edged closer to completing his quest of being the first quad player to win the wheelchair tennis golden slam as he claimed gold in the quad singles on Saturday. Alcott was forced to fight for the first set, winning it in a tiebreak but he used that momentum to power away in the second set and win 6-1 to defend his title and win his fourth Paralympic gold medal after a double in 2016 and wheelchair basketball gold in 2008.
Shingo Kunieda (JPN) sealed gold for the hosts in the men’s singles completing his comeback from a disappointing result in Rio five years ago. Kunieda was much too strong for Tom Egberink (NED) winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.
While it was a rare down day for the Netherlands the country couldn’t go a day without winning a wheelchair tennis gold as the Dutch swept the women’s medals. Diede de Groot backed up from winning the singles a day earlier to claim doubles gold with her partner Aniek van Koot, winning the second set tiebreak to win 6-2, 7-6.
Dutch avenge group stage loss to claim gold
Photo: Adam Pretty
Netherlands’ success continued at the Ariake Arena as the Dutch claimed their first women’s wheelchair basketball gold medal. The side only lost one game, to China, which they faced again in the gold medal match.
It was a dominant performance from the winners especially on the defensive side as they restricted China to cruise to a 50-31 win. Bo Kramer was the star for the gold medalists falling just short of a double-double with 15 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
The USA claimed the bronze medal match completing a disappointing tournament for Germany, winning 64-51. Rose Hollerman starred with a triple-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists while Lindsey Zurbrugg led the scoring with 22 points.
Tiebreak wraps up archery competition
Photo: World Archery
RPC managed a dramatic comeback to claim the final archery gold medal of Tokyo 2020 as they claimed the mixed team recurve title. The RPC came from behind to beat Italy in a tiebreak that took two arrows to wrap up.
Italy led 4-2 but from there RPC came back and won the next set with a 10 to take it away from the Italians and force a tiebreak. The first tiebreak saw both archers hit nine but in the second Elisabetta Mijno faltered hitting an eight allowing Kirll Smirnov to come through and win with a nine.
Thailand wins third straight boccia gold
Photo: World Boccia
Watcharaphon Vongsa was the star for Thailand again as he led his side to a third straight gold medal in the boccia BC 1-2 team event. After trailing China 2-0 in the first end the Thais came back and scored eight straight points to win 8-2.
Another all-Asian final was claimed by the Korea Republic in the BC3 team event winning a tiebreak after a 4-4 tie. The tiebreaker was just as close with the Koreans ending up just closer than the Japanese ball to claim a one-point win.
The final title was claimed by Slovakia which won the BC4 team gold with a 3-2 win over China.
Great Britain tops canoe medal tally
Photo: ICF
British paddlers claimed two more gold medals on Saturday to help the country top the spot in the canoe medal tally.
Charlotte Henshaw won the first British gold vindicating her switch from swimming as she managed a dominant win in the women’s KL2 final. Another British paddler who switched from another sport claimed the other gold. Laura Sugar swapped from athletics in 2018 and won the gold in the women’s KL3.
Curtis McGrath (AUS) completed the double as he added the VL3 to his earlier KL3 becoming the first athlete to win two canoeing gold medals in the same Games. Edina Mueller (GER) pulled off a shock in the women’s KL1, backing up her strong heat performance.
After missing out on his home Games five years ago Rufino de Paulo (BRL) was back and won the gold he missed out on in Rio. De Paulo charged home in the men’s VL2 to win an emotional gold medal.
Iran wins seventh volleyball gold
Photo: World Para Volley
Iran defended the men’s sitting volleyball gold medal with a four-set win over RPC on Saturday, claiming the gold 25-21, 25-14, 19-25, 25-17. Morteza Mehrzadeslakjani was the star for the champions scoring 28 points through 25 spikes, two blocks, and an ace.
The scoring was led by an RPC player, Viktor Milenin managing 30 points through 22 attacks, five aces, and three blocks. It was a tight fight from RPC but losing the third set woke up the Iranians who cruised to the win in the fourth.
Top seeds claim gold on the final day of Taekwondo
Photo: World Taekwondo
People looking for upsets were left disappointed as the best the unfancied athletes could do was the semi-finals in taekwondo at the Nippon Budokan on Saturday. The two finals were both closely fought encounters with the gold medalists only claiming the win by tight margins.
Guljonoy Naimova (UZB) shot out to a four-point lead in the first round and never looked back, wrapping up the win with a body kick with one minute to play to win the women’s K44 +59kg. Asghar Aziziaghdam (IRI) left it late to win the men’s K44 +75kg. It was a back-and-forward match as Ivan Mimulic (CRO) shot out to a 6-1 lead in the first round before Aziziaghdam came back with a 9-1 second. Mimulic claimed three points early in the final round to tie things up only for Azizaghdam to win with a body kick with 19 seconds on the clock.
TOKYO — Pakistan made history at the Paralympic Games on Friday as canoeing added a new category in another busy day as Tokyo 2020 heads to a climax.
Pakistan claims first gold medal
Photo: Carmen Mandato
Haider Ali made history for Pakistan as he claimed his nation’s first Paralympic gold medal. Finishing almost three meters ahead of the field in the men’s discus F37 he threw 55.26m to set a new Paralympic record in the process.
The rain kept pouring in Tokyo but it didn’t stop Anna Grimaldi (NZL) from setting a new Paralympic record in the women’s long jump T47. She was in front from the start and never looked back, breaking the record twice in the final and set the new mark at 5.76m.
Va’ medals awarded for the first time
Photo: ICF
A third straight day of history came in the canoeing events as the newly added Va’ events saw medals awarded for the first time on Friday. It was Emma Wiggs (GBR) who made history winning the first medal in the new category the women’s VL2.
Teenager Peter Pal Kiss (HUN) continued his impressive form capping his amazing year with a gold medal in the men’s KL1. He crossed the line 2.5 seconds clear in a new Paralympic record of 45.447, breaking the record he set in the heats.
There were plenty of tight finishes in the last road races of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games with the wet conditions only adding to the drama.
The hosts got some hardware in the first race of the day as Keiko Segura sprinted away at the death and managed to win the women’s C1-3, putting to bed any doubts that the 50-year-old should have retired. Behind her was a tight race for the other medals with Anna Beck (SWE) and Paige Greco (AUS) claiming the medals just ahead of Xiaomei Wang (CHN).
An early crash in the men’s C4-5 created drama but an incredible recovery from Yehor Dementyev (UKR) made a race of it. He pushed Kevin le Cunff (FRA) but on the final climb, the Frenchman broke clear, cracking Dementyev to claim gold.
Table tennis wraps up in style
It was supposed to be a tight final for the women’s team 9-10 but Poland ended up making light work of the two individual gold medalists in the classifications beating Australia in two matches. The doubles tie was tight going all the way to five games with Poland just edging it 11-9 in the fifth. In a rematch of the Class 10 semi-final, Natalia Partyka got revenge over Qian Yang, winning comfortably 11-5, 11-9, 11-5.
Dutch tennis dominance continues
Photo; Naomi Baker
The Netherlands added three more medals to their wheelchair tennis tally with some more impressive results on Friday. It began with the quad singles bronze medal match as Niels Vink capped his tournament with a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 win over home hope Koji Sugeno.
There was more heartbreak for the Japanese in the women’s singles as Yui Kamiji fell to Diede de Groot after putting up a fight in the second set. After de Groot claimed the first set 6-3, Kamiji pushed de Groot to a tie-break but the Dutch woman came through to win in straight sets and extend the Netherlands successful run in the event to 29 years.
Brazil and Turkey claim goalball gold
Photo courtesy IBSA Goalball
Brazil won its first men’s goalball gold medal as a stunning performance from Josemarcio Sousa sent his side past China 7-2. Sousa scored another hattrick to cap his stunning tournament, finishing with 26 goals.
Turkey defended its women’s goalball title, becoming just the second team to do so, with a comprehensive 9-2 win over the USA. It was a clinical performance especially from Sevda Altunoluk who scored all nine of the Turkish goals.
China finishes swimming on top
Facing a threat from RPC Chinese swimmers doubled down winning four medals to claim the top spot in the swimming medal tally. China won 19 gold medals, 56 total to finish in front of the rest of the field in a stunning two weeks.
Liu Yu was the star of the day claiming gold in the women’s 50m backstroke S4 breaking her own world record from the heats. Li Guizhi also claimed gold for China completing a full set of Tokyo medals she won the women’s 100m freestyle S11, setting a new Paralympic record in the process.
Long term dreams fulfilled
Photo: Alex Davidson
Lisa Gjessing (DEN) a key figure in getting Taekwondo added to the Paralympic Games fulfilled her wishes of winning Paralympic gold. She won the women’s K44 -58kg with a strong final against Beth Munro (GBR)
It was a dramatic finish in the shooting as Zhang Cuiping (CHN) claimed gold in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1. She needed a near-flawless shot with her final bullet and she got there to claim the win.
China’s domination in archery came to an end as Kevin Mather (USA) won the gold in the men’s individual recurve open final claiming the win 6-4.
More finals set in sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball
Photo: World Para Volley
The United States could defend their women’s sitting volleyball title as they managed a strong match to eliminate Brazil in straight sets. Heather Erickson scored 12 points in a comprehensive win with the USA taking advantage of Brazil’s slow start to win 25-19, 25-11, 25-23.
China made their fifth straight final and set up a rematch of the 2016 final after a straight-sets win over Canada. Tang Xuemei scored 13 points to lead the way in three tight sets winning 25-19, 25-20, 25-16.
Japan’s incredible run in the men’s wheelchair basketball to make the final taking a big win over Great Britain 79-68. They will face the USA as they proved too strong for Spain for a 66-52 win in the earlier semi-final.
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