INDONESIA has assured itself of a third consecutive ASEAN Para Games title despite having a day of competition left before the 12th ASEAN Para Games Cambodia 2023 concludes officially, tomorrow night.
With a collection of 135 gold medals on the penultimate day of competition, Indonesia has sealed the title to emerge champion for the third consecutive time.
Thailand, host of the next Games in Korat in 2026, had to settle for the second spot with 123 gold medals, despite amassing the highest number of golden haul of 27 gold across seven sports today.
The Thai Blind Football team defeated Malaysia 4-0 to take the gold before winning both the men’s and women’s team goalball gold medals.
Para badminton and para table tennis turned out to be the biggest winners for the Thais, contributing nine and eight gold medals respectively.
Indonesia were three short behind Thailand in today’s gold collection but maintained their top spot after winning six gold in badminton, three each in chess and swimming.
But it was their paddlers who contributed to the big win, racking up 12 gold medals on the final day of the para table tennis competition.
“We had come to Phnom Penh to win the 12th ASEAN Para Games crown for the third consecutive time and we’ve achieved our target, history is created,” said Indonesia’s chef de Mission Andi Herman.
Six gold — three in para chess and three in swimming – kept Vietnam comfortably in third with a total of 66 gold ahead of Malaysia, who had reasons to celebrate the day following its CP Football team’s win over Indonesia at the National Olympic Stadium in Phnom Penh.
Malaysia, which had surpassed its earlier target of 33 gold, are now on fourth spot after today’s five-gold win, amassing a total of 47 gold, 38 silvers and 29 bronzes.
The Philippines had all their six gold in para chess, thanks to Sander de erit Severino who won three gold in the men’s individual blitz chess to help the contingent remain in third.
Host Cambodia had 9 gold to show after eight days of competition but failed to win any today to remain at eighth overall.
A total of 71 gold were claimed today with 483 gold medals have been won thus far before the Games conclude with the closing ceremony tomorrow night. https://games.cambodia2023.com/#schedule
