Paralympic Games
24 August - 5 September 2021

Day 10 review: Goalball champions decided while Pakistan make history

Brazil and Turkey victorious in goalball, while many more moments were created at Tokyo 2020 03 Sep 2021
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Leomon Moreno reaches for a blue ball
Leomon Moreno reaches for a shot during the men’s goalball gold medal match between China and Brazil
ⒸOIS
By IPC, IBSA, OIS

Goalball action concluded on Day 10 (3 September) of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, with Brazil reaching a milestone in the sport. Keiko Sugiura struck gold for Japan in the road cycling, while Pakistan saw their first ever Paralympic champion.

Here is some of the top action from Day 10:


BRAZIL, TURKEY GOALBALL WINNERS

Brazil's men claimed a first Paralympic gold medal in goalball when they convincingly beat 2008 gold medallists China 7-2. Josemarcio Sousa scored a hat-trick for the second successive game. 

Finishing an impressive tournament as joint top scorer with 26 goals alongside China’s Mingyuan Yang, Sousa partnered with Leomon Moreno who also claimed a treble while captain Romario Marques grabbed a double.

Competing in their second final having finished runners-up behind Finland at London 2012, this was a completely different performance. Brazil showed impressive defensive resilience in the first half before showing why they scored 60 goals in just seven matches.

Only losing one match, against Rio 2016 silver medallists the USA, it has been an outstanding tournament from Alessandro Tosim’s side. They also beat Lithuania, gold medallists from five years ago, twice including in the semi-final.

Turkey became only the second women’s side to retain their Paralympic title with a 9-2 win over Rio 2016 bronze medallists the USA. Sevda Altunoluk scored all nine goals to finish as the top scorer with 46 goals.

Having beaten China in the show piece five years ago, they joined Canada, who triumphed in 2000 and 2004, in winning gold at successive Games.

JAPAN MAKE NOISE IN CYCLING

Keiko Sugiura proved that age was not a factor as she completed a perfect Games after winning the women’s road race C1-3, to couple with her time trial victory. The 50-year-old, who thought about retiring when Tokyo 2020 was postponed, became the first Japanese cyclist to win a pair of gold medals at a Games. The last Paralympic champion for Japan in cycling was Mutsuhiko Ogawa from Atlanta 1996, who won in road time trial.

Fist clenched, close up of Keiko Sugiura cycling to gold

PARALYMPIC HISTORY FOR PAKISTAN

Pakitsan’s Haider Ali took gold in the men's discus F37 with a Paralympic record throw of 55.26. He was followed by Ukrainian Mykola Zhabnyak (52.43) and Brazil's Joao Teixeira (51.86). Pakistan had previously won two medals at Paralympic Games, one silver and bronze, both claimed by Ali himself in the long jump at Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016.

Germany’s Johannes Floors ended five years of hurt as he finally blasted to Paralympic Games 400m. The German screamed "I am the champion" as he crossed the line in the T62 already celebrating his first individual gold on Para sport’s biggest stage.

TEENAGE TALENT

World champion Peter Pal Kiss of Hungary lived up to his reputation with a definitive win in the men’s kayak single 200m KL1 at Sea Forest Waterway. 

The 18-year-old clocked 45.447 seconds, knocking almost three seconds off his Paralympic best time from the previous day, and 2.5 seconds ahead of silver medallist Luis Carlos Cardoso da Silva of Brazil, with France’s Remy Boulle taking the bronze. As the youngest medallist in Para canoe at the Games, Kiss started strong in his debut.

Canoe also saw the first va’a Paralympic competitions, with Emma Wiggs of Great Britain won the women’s VL2.

LAST DAY TO MAKE A SPLASH

They were pushed until the end, and rivals are inching closer than ever, but China will still leave Tokyo Aquatics Centre as the top-performing swimming team of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. 

They finished the competition with 56 medals, 19 of them gold, making Tokyo 2020 the third straight Games at which they have taken the lion’s share of titles in the pool.

Heading into the final day of competition, it looked like RPC could emerge as the sport's leading team but China's swimmers produced a final surge, picking up four of the 16 golds on offer on Friday.

Those included a win by Liu Yu in the women’s 50m backstroke S4, who also improved on a world record she set in the heats. Li Guizhi took gold in the women’s 100m freestyle S11 in a Paralympic record, adding to the silver and bronze medals she won earlier at Tokyo 2020. 

WHAT ELSE HAPPENED

It was not meant to be for home favourite Yui Kamiji in wheelchair tennis.

Top seed Diede de Groot of the Netherlands beat Kamiji 6-3, 7-6 (1) to claim gold in women's singles and extend Netherlands' reign in the event at the Paralympic Games to 29 years.

Taekwondo’s Paralympic debut continued with Denmark’s Lisa Gjessing fulfilling a long-time dream of taking Paralympic gold in the up to 58kg K44 over Great Britain’s Beth Munro. 

In shooting, China’s Zhang Cuiping needed the very last shot to become a triple Paralympic champion in R8 (women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1). It was ZHANG’s fourth consecutive medal in this event, adding to golds at London 2012 and Rio 2016, and bronze at Beijing 2008.

In another range, the USA’s Kevin Mather eventually took matters into his own hands in the men’s individual recurve open final, denying China a fifth gold medal. The 39-year-old defeated Zhao Lixue 6-4 in a tense match.