VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesian runner Saptoyogo Purnomo clinched the first gold medal for Indonesia at the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China, on Monday.

He emerged as the winner in the men's 400-meter T37 race with a record of 54.80 seconds, 1.83 seconds ahead of Apisit Taprom (Thailand) and 2.75 seconds ahead of Thamer Ahmed Alzahrani (Saudi Arabia).

Taprom won the silver medal, and Alzahrani took the bronze.

Purnomo's achievement at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games extends his list of achievements.

He recently qualified for a spot in the 2024 Paris Paralympics by winning a silver medal in the men's 100m T37 at the 2023 World Para-Athletics Championships in Paris in July.

With Purnomo's victory, the Indonesian para-athletics team has so far garnered two medals at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games. Earlier, Suparni Yati won silver in the shot-put F20 with the second-best record of 11.12 meters.

Overall, the Indonesian contingent has collected four medals at the games. The other two medals came from para-cycling, with Sri Sugiyanti winning silver in the women's 3,000-meter Indoor Pursuit and Nurfendi taking the bronze in the men's 4,000 m Indoor Pursuit.

The 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games will conclude on Saturday (October 28), and the Indonesian contingent will return home the following day.

Indonesia aims to finish in the top 10 at the games with a goal of 19 gold, 23 silver, and 25 bronze medals.

The National Paralympics Committee of Indonesia sent 130 athletes to participate in Huangzhou.

They are competing in 12 sports: athletics, swimming, weightlifting, badminton, cycling, shooting, judo, boccia, chess, lawn bowls, archery, and table tennis. (Antaranews)