Indonesia's breakthrough leads a changing boccia world at Seoul 2026
Indonesia finished atop the medals table at the Seoul 2026 World Boccia Championships 11 Sep 2026
Indonesia’s rise to the top of the medal table was the headline act, but the bigger story from the Seoul 2026 World Boccia Championships was the increasing depth of competition across the sport.
Sixteen nations reached the podium across 11 medal events, highlighting how success in boccia is no longer concentrated among a relatively small group of countries.
Indonesia finished with three golds and one silver medal, taking the BC1 men’s and women’s titles and the BC1/2 team crown during the World Championships, which recently concluded in the Republic of Korea.
Thailand were next with two golds and two bronzes, while Hong Kong topped the overall medal count with five.
Indonesia announce themselves as new power
Indonesia’s success was not an overnight development. Their four-gold haul at the Póvoa World Cup in July had already marked them out as the nation to watch, with coach Argya Wimala pointing to daily training, improved facilities and government investment as the foundations of their rapid progress.
For the athletes themselves, however, the scale of what happened in Seoul was still difficult to absorb.
Gischa Zayana, part of Indonesia’s victorious BC1/2 team, admitted she had not expected to leave her first World Championships as gold medallists.
“First of all, we’re obviously very happy. We really didn’t expect it, because this is our team’s first World Championship, and thankfully we were blessed with the victory,” she said.
Muhamad Syafa was at the heart of that transformation, following his BC1 gold in Póvoa with the world title in Seoul. Handayani Handayani added the women’s BC1 crown and Indonesia then completed their golden treble in the BC1/2 team event.
While Indonesia were barely established on the international scene eight years ago, they have transformed into a powerhouse.
And Zayana is already looking beyond the celebrations in Seoul. With the LA28 Paralympic Games now the next major target, her ambition is straightforward.
“To become better and achieve better results,” she said.
Showcasing the depth of the sport
Thailand, meanwhile, remain one of the strongest countries in the sport. Worawut Saengampa backed up his Paris 2024 Paralympic gold by claiming the BC2 men's world title while Ladamanee Kla-Han took BC3 women's gold.
Saengampa remains one of the sport's top athletes, but Thailand's four-medal haul could not match Indonesia's impact at the top of the standings.
Hong Kong produced perhaps the most impressive performance in terms of depth. Two years after topping the boccia medals table at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, they won five medals, more than any other country, including gold for Hiu Lam Yeung in BC2 women and the BC4 pairs title.
That was an especially strong response after Hong Kong left the Montreal World Cup earlier in the year without a medal. Montreal had been dominated by Japan and South Korea, who both finished with seven medals, while Mexico also produced a major surprise by winning the BC1/2 team event.
In Seoul, Mexico won two medals - Eduardo Sanchez Reyes taking silver in BC1 men and then backing that up as part of Mexico’s bronze-winning BC1/2 team.
Paralympic champions and rising stars
South America also provided arguably the individual story of the World Championships with the emergence of the Brazilian teenager, Jose Antonio Santos.
The 19-year-old athlete made a spectacular impact in Seoul, topping the podium in the men’s BC4 event and regularly having Brazilian supporters on their feet with the astonishing accuracy and power of his shots.
“My expectation was to do my best,” he said. “I never thought I would be able to get here and win a gold medal.”
Great Britain’s Stephen McGuire had arrived in Korea as the world No. 1 and the reigning Paralympic champion in the BC4 class.
McGuire was denied in the individual tournament, but he teamed up with teenage talent - 18-year-old Sophie Newnham - to win the BC4 pairs gold.
But there was no runaway European domination. Singapore claimed BC3 pairs gold, Portugal and Greece took silver medals, China reached the podium and Mexico returned home with medals from both the individual and team competitions.
Singapore’s success was particularly noteworthy. Their victory in the BC3 pairs event confirmed the country’s rapid emergence as a serious force rather than merely a source of occasional individual surprises.
That development had already been visible earlier in the season, when Singapore’s Jovin Tan won his first World Cup gold in the men’s BC1 event.
South Korea entered their home championships with genuine medal hopes across the classifications and some of the world's leading players, but did not turn home advantage into overall supremacy.
The individual results were equally revealing.
Australia’s Daniel Michel defended the BC3 men's gold, Hiu Lam Yeung lifted the BC2 women's title for Hong Kong, and the emergence of several less-established medal contenders all pointed in the same direction.
The traditional giants remain firmly in the picture. Thailand, Great Britain, Portugal, South Korea, Japan, Brazil and Hong Kong retain substantial international strength.
But the World Championships also showcased emerging nations, led by Indonesia’s rise to the top of the medal standings.
The Seoul 2026 World Boccia Championships represented another step towards a genuinely global boccia landscape, where success is no longer concentrated among the same handful of nations.
