SINGAPORE - Thrower Diroy Noordin finished top of the men's shot put F40/41 event at the Asean Para Games (APG) in Solo on Tuesday (Aug 2) morning.
He threw 9.91m to place ahead of Indonesian Ansyari (9.03m) and Vietnam's Tran Van (9.01m). While the status of the result is still unofficial on the APG website, it would be the 30-year-old's first triumph at the regional multi-sport event once ratified.
He won the silver medal in both the shot put and javelin events at the 2017 APG in Kuala Lumpur.
Diroy's win in the shot put came after he picked up the bronze in the javelin F40/41 with a distance of 26.18m on Monday, which organisers deemed official only a day later.
He delivered a clutch throw in his final effort after three straight foul attempts.
And while he said he felt the foul throws were valid, Diroy added he did not let them rattle him and remained calm.
"I still focused for the next throws and I did very well with that one throw at the end that got me on the podium and the medal," he said.
Diroy's gold was Singapore's third at the Solo APG, following wins by swimming siblings Colin and Sophie Soon in the men's and women's SB12 100m breaststroke events, respectively, on Monday.
Swimmer Darren Chan, 19, also added another medal for Team Singapore on Tuesday by winning bronze in the men's 50m fly S14.
The Republic has a chance at adding another on Thursday, when archer Nur Syahidah Alim takes on Thailand's Praphaporn Homjanthuek in the final of the women's individual compound event.
Syahidah, 36, is aiming for her third straight APG gold in the event, having won in 2015 and 2017. She had also won gold in the mixed team event in 2015. The 2019 edition of the APG was cancelled due to the pandemic.
She had beaten another Thai, Phannibha Srathongmaew 141-128 in the semi-final on Tuesday.
Syahidah said the elements in Solo have been challenging, but was able to overcome them.
She had cited a "bit of a challenge with the heat" in her quarter-final win over Indonesia's Tuwariyah. Commenting on her semi-final, she said: "There was a bit of problem with the wind but I still kept my cool and my focus and focused on my coach's voice, my form and my process. Overall, I'm happy with it going well.
"Going to the final, I'm just going to do my best and focus on what I need to do like my form and my process."
Meanwhile in swimming, Jeremiah Liauw set a national record in the men's 50m breaststroke SB5 on Tuesday, clocking 1min 2.03sec despite finishing last among five competitors.
