Paris 2024: Indonesia impress on Paralympic boccia debut
Medals galore for Indonesia at Paris 2024 in their first time competing in boccia, as all four of the team land on the podium in their first Games 07 Sep 2024
There are debuts and then there are stunning debuts. And no one can be in any doubt which category Indonesia's Paris 2024 boccia team fall into after a medal-laden competition saw all four of their squad secure at least one Paralympic podium spot.
The medal rush began with Gischa Zayana winning bronze in the women's individual BC2, which was followed swiftly by one of the shocks of the tournament, as teammate Muhamed Syafa triumphed over hot favourite David Smith to claim the men's individual BC1 bronze.
Smith admitted afterwards “If I didn’t laugh, I would cry,” and the result put Indonesia on an unstoppable roll as the tournament progressed.
Muhammad Bintang Herlangga went on to secure the men's individual BC2 silver after reaching the final before being beaten by boccia legend Worawut Saengampa of Thailand.
But it was in the team events that Indonesia really excelled. Building on their individual bronze medals, Syafa and Zayananjoined joined forces with Felix Ardi Yudha in the mixed team BC1/BC2.
Together, they nudged out Beijing 2008 gold medallists Great Britain 7*-7 in a quarter final tiebreak victory, before sweeping aside Tokyo 2020 bronze medallists Japan 9-0 in the mixed team semi-final.
“We can’t believe what we’ve achieved between two Wednesdays,” Yudha admitted after the semi.
“Three medals won and now a fourth one assured - all inside seven days. That’s maths and history coming together for Indonesian boccia.”
And history it was as they claimed their second silver is as many days, losing out to People's Republic of China in a 7-6 thriller.
Yudha said his team can build on their experience for future Games.
"In hindsight, if I am to do an honest analysis of our performance, I would say that's where we fell short. We played with courage, but that's where we lost the gold,"
"We have learned a lot from this final and from how China performed. Next time, when we play in the Paralympics, we will try to use our experience from this final to try and win gold."
Syafa is also looking to the future.
"To win a bronze and a silver at our country's first-ever Paralympic Games appearance is a terrific result. That said, I hope to give the best result to Indonesia in our next Games.
"This medal is for Indonesian boccia family and my parents, who are always praying for me."
