2025 Asean Para Games: Swimmer Toh Wei Soong scores third golden hat-trick

SINGAPORE – Only 17 when he made a splash at the

Asean Para Games (APG)

on home soil in 2015, Toh Wei Soong is not letting up in his 11th year competing in the event, as the Singapore swimmer claimed his 10th and 11th gold medals on Jan 24.

At the Nakhon Ratchasima Sports Complex in Korat, Thailand, the 27-year-old won the men’s 50m butterfly S7 final in 31.14sec, ahead of Indonesia’s Abdil Majid Rahman (31.55) and Filipino Ernie Gawilan (35.38).

About an hour later, he returned to the pool to beat Abdil in another tight race in the 50m freestyle S7 final, touching the wall first in 29.26sec, as the Indonesian (29.51) and Thailand’s Kaweewat Sittichaiphonniti (34.02) claimed the other podium spots.

Earlier in the week, the veteran swimmer clinched a men’s 100m freestyle S7 gold, 400m freestyle S7 silver and 100m backstroke S7-S8 bronze. Notably, this is the third time he has completed a hat-trick of gold medals across four Games – he also did so in his debut in 2015, and in Cambodia in 2023.

He won two golds in Malaysia in 2017, and the 2020 edition in the Philippines was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He did not compete in Indonesia in 2022 as the meet clashed with the Commonwealth Games in England.

Toh, who was diagnosed with transverse myelitis – an inflammation of the spinal cord, which restricts the use of his legs – told The Sunday Times: “I didn’t even realise that the 11 golds tally up with the 11 years since my first APG in 2015.

“Knowing that, it really makes me appreciate how far I have progressed since beginning this journey more than 13 years ago (when he began competitive swimming at age 14).

“I hope that it will stand as inspiration to future generations of para-athletes, people with disabilities and people without disabilities too, specifically that life can be long, life can be big, and there’s enough space and time for you to do something with your life and enjoy what you do.”

When asked if he intends to compete at the 2029 APG in Singapore, Toh said his main focus is to compete and do well at the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.

He added: “Whatever comes after that is something I want to assess after those Games. Swimming is something I have given the last 13 years of my life to, and I want to end it, whenever it may be, on a note that feels right to me, and that hasn’t come yet.”

Elsewhere, there were several silver linings for Team Singapore in archery, athletics, badminton, bowling, judo and shooting, which delivered five silvers and a bronze.

At the nearby Nakhon Ratchasima Sports Complex shooting range, Theresa Goh and Daniel Chan finished second in the para-shooting mixed team P6 10m air pistol SH1 event, after losing 17-13 to Thailand’s Saknarin Bunsukweerawat and Penpitcha Thepprachum in the final.

Goh and Chan had won gold in their individual events a day earlier. Goh was born with spina bifida – a condition in which the spine and spinal cord do not form properly – while the latter has Erb’s palsy, a condition which damaged the nerves in his left arm.

In para-judo at The Mall Korat, Team Singapore flag-bearer Joan Hung, a visually impaired athlete who switched from goalball, claimed silver in the women’s 60kg J1-J2 event after finishing second out of five athletes in the round-robin competition. Indonesia’s Siyamsih took the gold while her compatriot Dheny Marsyelina and Thailand’s Arisaya Phajen shared the bronze.

In the para-archery women’s individual final at Korat’s Vongchavalitkul University Mook Stadium Field, flu-ridden world No. 1 Syahidah Alim lost 142-138 to Indonesia’s ninth-ranked Teodora Audi Ayudia Ferelly amid hot and windy conditions.

However, the 40-year-old who was born with diplegia – a form of cerebral palsy that affects her lower limbs – remained positive and is looking forward to doing well in the new World Archery Para Series, which starts in Bangkok from March 29 to April 5, and the Oct 18-24 Asian Para Games in Nagoya, Japan.

She said: “As much as I wanted to do well for the final, I wasn’t in optimal condition, and I already did my best, given my condition. Of course, there are a lot of things I would have wanted to do better. Every competition is always a learning experience and I will reflect on that to do better for the next one.”

Meanwhile, visually impaired duo Wendy Wong and Kelvin Goh combined for 1,795 pinfalls after six frames each in the para-bowling mixed doubles TPB1+TPB3 final at the Blu-O Rhythm & Bowl Esplanade in Bangkok, placing second behind Malaysia’s Rizal Hassan and Suhairi Abdul Kadir (1,872). Thailand’s Denpong Chantaramanee and Menthini Wongchomphu (1,741) clinched the bronze.

Goh, who at age 65 is the Republic’s oldest athlete at these Games, won an individual gold on Jan 21.

Track sprinter James Ang won silver in the men’s 400m T12 with a national record 52.96sec, behind Thailand’s Tisuwan Kissanapong (50.81) and ahead of Malaysia’s Rabi Noorhelmie (53.29).

Xavier Lim, who has dwarfism, was beaten 21-7, 21-11 by Thailand’s Natthapong Meechai in the para-badminton men’s singles SH6 semi-finals and secured a joint-bronze.

Team Singapore currently have 12 golds, seven silvers and eight bronzes from the Jan 20-26 Games and they are seventh among the 10 participating teams.