Asian Para Games: Impressive Jiang Yuyan leads hosts in Hangzhou

The Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Aquatic Sports Arena produced the most successful athlete of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Para Games.

Jiang Yuyan bagged seven golds and added a bronze to take her tally to eight. Only her compatriot Zhang Meng visited the podium as many times in Hangzhou, but with four gold and four silver medals.

Yuyan’s achievements made her to be named flag bearer for the Chinese delegation at the closing ceremony on Saturday (28 October). 

Her first gold came on day one of Para swimming (Monday, 23) in the women's 100m backstroke S6. The youngest athlete at the Games, 13-year-old Cheuk Yan NG from Hong Kong took bronze in the same event.

“I actually felt a little surprised. Before this competition, my goal was to break the race record. But I didn’t expect that the pool in Hangzhou was so perfect for swimming, and our audience were so enthusiastic. All these motivated me more. And I’m satisfied with my race result,” the class S6 swimmer said after her first gold.

But there was more to come for the 18-year-old who returned to the pool the next day to win the 100m freestyle S7. 

Wednesday’s (25) action saw Yuyan on the podium three times in one session with gold medals in the 50m butterfly S6 and the mixed 4x50m medley relay 20 points, and also bronze in the 200m individual medley.

The three-time world champion from Manchester 2023 then grabbed her fifth gold in the 400m freestyle S6 on Thursday (26) before she wrapped up her impressive campaign with two victories on Friday (27). First in the women’s 50m freestyle S6 and later as part of the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay 34 points. 

Hosts China collected more than half (56) of the 98 gold medals up for grabs in Para swimming at this year’s Asian Para Games. Chinese swimmers recorded nine podium sweeps in one day on Wednesday.

Impressive Japan

Japan finished second in the medals table (19 gold, 56 medals) led by a mixture of experience and young talents. 

Kota Kubota won the men's 100m backstroke S8 to hand Japan its 200th Para swimming medal at the Asian Para Games. Japan is only the second nation to reach this milestone in swimming, after China. 

Fifteen-year old Taiyo Kawabuchi picked four medals in his Asian Para Games debut and topped the podium in the men’s 400m freestyle S9.

Two-time Paralympic champion Takayuki Suzuki won his 10th gold medal at the Asian Para Games in the men's 50m freestyle S4. The Japanese has now won a total of 15 Games medals.

Ernie Gawilan continued to write history for the Philippines in the pool as he achieved his 10th Asian Para Games medal in Hangzhou following the victory in the men’s 400m freestyle S7. It was his fourth gold and Gawilan has now at least six more medals than any other athlete representing Philippines in history of the competition.

History was also made by Tien Dat Le who won Vietnam's first gold medal at the 4thAsian Para Games in the men's 100m breaststroke S5.

Iran’s Shahin Izadyar took two silver medals on day one to bring his medal tally to 21 medals (eight gold, nine silver, four bronze). He thus became the first athlete to have won at least 20 medals at the Asian Para Games.

Complete Para swimming results from the fourth edition of the Asian Para Games can be found here.