Gold finally, but Danielle's mission is not over yet
Swimmer Danielle Moi made her Asean Para Games debut on home ground two years ago and competed in four events, but did not win a medal.
It wasn't because the teenager was not good enough, though. There were simply not enough swimmers in her S14 category for the organisers to make those races medal events.
Para-swimming events are classified according to disability levels, with S14 accorded to athletes with intellectual disabilities.
The Metta School student proved her prowess that year when she won two gold medals at the Special Olympics in Los Angeles.
Yesterday, Danielle finally won a gold medal at the Asean Para Games in Kuala Lumpur.
The swimmer, who clinched a silver in the women's 100m free S14 on Monday, clocked a new personal best of 2min 29.89sec in the women's 200m S14 freestyle, ahead of Claire Sunega Calizo of the Philippines (2:44.81) and Singapore's Chew Zi Ling (2:53.00).
"I'm feeling happy after winning my first gold medal at the Games," Danielle, who turns 18 in December, told The New Paper yesterday.
She added that she was even more motivated to win yesterday's race, after claiming silver on Monday.
Yesterday's win has given the swimmer a confidence booster before her final event - the 50m free S14 - tomorrow.
"I don't feel my mission is completed yet, because I have another event coming up," she said. "I'm looking forward to hitting another PB in that event... I would like to win another medal, too."
In the men's category, Wong Zhi Wei took a silver in the 100m freestyle S13 race with 1:05.26. Benson Tan also finished second in the 100m freestyle S14 final with a personal best of 1:01.38.
Team Singapore also struck gold at the Sunway Mega Lanes yesterday, when bowler Mohamed Ismail Hussain won the mixed singles Open TPB3 event with 1,303 pinfalls.
Malaysians Rizal Hassan (1,216) and Noresham Manaf (1,120) won silver and bronze respectively.
It was the 33-year-old Ismail's third straight win at the Games, following victories in 2011 and 2015, in Indonesia and Singapore respectively.
Tenpin bowling was not offered at the 2014 edition in Myanmar.
"I was nervous (in the latter part of the competition) because, at one point, one of the Malaysians had seven strikes in a row," the visually impaired athlete said in a Team Singapore interview. "But, in bowling, you don't give up until the last ball (leaves your hands)."
Ismail's teammate Tan Swang Hee clinched a bronze in the mixed singles Open TPB10 with 1,230 pins, while Muhammad Diroy Noordin earned a silver in the men's javelin throw (600g) F40/41 final with a distance of 24.03m.
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