ASIAN PARA GAMES – 2 out of 3 ain’t bad

Indonesia’s Fredy Setiawan managed gold in two of his three finals on Thursday at the Incheon Asian Para Games while Koreans took 4 of 5 wheelchair badminton golds.

Story and photos by Don Hearn

Playing in his first Asian Para Games, 23-year-old Fredy Setiawan (pictured above with men’s doubles partner Dwiyoko) accounted for half of Indonesia’s badminton gold medal haul, nearly half of those available in the standing events.  The other two were contributed all or in part by his team-mate Ukun Rukaendi, who is also the one who, along with partner Hary Susanto (pictured below), denied Setiawan a third gold in what would have been a Para Asian Games badminton first.

After Setiawan took the SL4 singles title with a win over India’s Tarun, he and Leani Ratri Oktila (pictured above) won the mixed doubles, again with a win over eventual silver medallists from India.

Setiawan had the chance to set the record but he ended up merely equalling the mark set at the 2010 Asian Para Games by Malaysia’s Cheah Liek Hou (pictured below with Suhaili Laiman), who duplicated his feat in Incheon.  Despite his lack of confidence going into the semi-finals, Cheah finished the singles event by beating all three Indonesians who reached the final four.  He took out Suryo Nugroho and Oddie Kurnia Dwi Listyanto in the semis and the final respectively and had already beaten the other losing semi-finalist Imam Kunantoro in the group stage.

China’s Cheng Hefang also had the chance to be a double gold medallist in the standing events.  She took gold in the women’s doubles, a round-robin event, but lost in the women’s singles final to compatriot Sun Shouqun (pictured above).  Leani Ratri Oktila and Khalimatus Sadiyah (pictured below) contributed a silver in the women’s standing doubles.

Korea took 4 of 5 golds in the wheelchair categories.  Choi Jung Man (pictured above, right) became the first Asian Para Games double gold medallist in wheelchair badminton.  He won gruelling contests in both doubles and singles against team-mate Lee Sam Seop, who was his partner winning gold at the FESPIC Games back in 2003.   Lee, who won three golds at the World Championships in 2009, finished with 3 silvers this time around.  His mixed doubles partner Lee Sun Ae (pictured above left) also missed out on the opportunity for two golds when they came up short in that final.

The winners of the wheelchair mixed final were Thailand’s Jakarin Homhaul / Amnouy Wetwithan (pictured below).  This is the second straight Asian Para Games at which Wetwithan has been responsible for Thailand’s only gold in para-badminton.

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