Malaysian boccia athlete wins silver at Tokyo Paralympics

Tokyo, Sept 1 — National boccia athlete Chew Wei Lun brought home another medal for Malaysia at the Tokyo Paralympics Games, winning silver in the mixed individual (BC1) category at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre today.

Chew, Malaysia’s first boccia athlete to compete on the Paralympics stage, lost 2-4 to Rio 2016 defending champion David Smith of Great Britain.

The 26-year-old began well, taking an early 2-0 lead in the first end, but Smith narrowed the gap to 2-1 in the second end, drawing even in the third end before defeating Chew 4-2 in the fourth.

Chew, who ranks 11th in the world, had previously won six games in a row including four matches at the group level.

Malaysia’s silver medal haul at the Paralympic Games now stands at two, following the second-place win by powerlifting athlete Jong Yee Khie in the 107kg category on Monday.

Fellow powerlifting athlete Bonnie Bunyau Gustin meanwhile won Malaysia’s first gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in the 72kg category on Saturday.

NMT