Indonesia’s Boccia stars delivered a golden farewell, Japan celebrated a historic breakthrough and South Korea’s Kwak Geonhwi held his nerve on the archery range as the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games concluded their final day of competition on Saturday.
With the last medals up for grabs, Indonesia produced one of the day’s most emphatic victories, defeating Thailand 11-3 in the mixed team BC1/BC2 boccia final at Rainbow Hall.
Indonesia’s Golden Trio
Felix Ardi Yudha, Muhamad Syafa and Gischa Zayana combined to outplay Thailand, adding another gold to Indonesia’s impressive boccia campaign.
For Yudha and Zayana, it was their second title of the Games following individual triumphs in the men’s and women’s BC2 events, respectively.
“We knew that we had to keep calm throughout the game as Thailand are a very strong team. We played to our maximum throughout. It is great to get another gold (after his victory in men’s individual BC2),” Yudha said.
The victory was particularly satisfying for Syafa, who had finished fourth in the men’s individual BC1 competition.
“I was very disappointed after the individual event but this gold makes up for that failure,” he said.
Zayana, meanwhile, could scarcely believe her double success. “When I came here I never expected to win gold medals, so to go with two is wonderful. Hopefully I can be even stronger in the future.”
Japan Celebrate Boccia First
Hosts Japan also enjoyed a memorable finish, defeating Singapore 4-2 in the mixed pairs BC3 final to secure their first Asian Para Games boccia gold.
The victory added another highlight to Japan’s record-breaking campaign on home soil.
Kwak Masters the Conditions
At Okazaki, South Korea’s Kwak Geonhwi overcame China’s Zhao Lixue 6-4 in the men’s para recurve final in Archery despite wet conditions.
“I can’t believe that this is reality,” Kwak said.
Rain proved no distraction for the Korean, who credited his composure for the victory.
“I just concentrated on what I needed to do, and I think that’s how I got there.”
Korea also claimed silver in mixed team sabre wheelchair fencing, finishing with 100 medals, including 29 gold.
China Reign, Japan Set New Mark
China topped the medal standings with 207 gold, 117 silver and 111 bronze medals.
Japan finished second with a record 64 golds, surpassing its previous best of 45, while Uzbekistan took third place with 45 golds.
India finished fourth with a national-record 114 medals, including 30 gold.
As the final contests ended, the spotlight shifted to the closing ceremony. For the champions, however, the celebrations were already giving way to bigger ambitions, and another shot at glory in Los Angeles in 2028.
Iraq Power to Mixed Team Gold
Iraq provided the final flourish, defeating Indonesia in the mixed team gold-medal contest to finish their para powerlifting campaign with two golds and two silvers.
The Iraqi trio of Zahra Al-Obaidi, Muslim Al-Sudani and Mustafa Radhi denied Indonesia’s Ni Nengah Widiasih, Hilman and Abdul Hadi, who had earlier sprung a surprise by eliminating China in the head-to-head stage. Indonesia had qualified fourth, but China’s Yi Zou missed a crucial lift, opening the door for the Indonesians to reach the final and claim silver.
