Paralympics: Singapore assured of historic boccia medal after Jeralyn Tan's semi-final win

SINGAPORE – The tears flowed freely as Jeralyn Tan hugged her coach Yurnita Omar after securing a historic Paralympic boccia medal for Singapore at the South Paris Arena 1 on Sept 1.

In contrast to the outpouring of emotions, the 35-year-old was a picture of composure and determination earlier as the world No. 2 displayed great strategy and accuracy to beat Japan’s sixth-ranked Hiromi Endo 5-1 in their women’s individual BC1 semi-final.

With at least a silver assured, debutante Tan will play home favourite and world No. 16 Aurelie Aubert in the final at 4.30pm (Singapore time) on Sept 2.

The 27-year-old had defeated Bermuda’s Yushae DeSilva-Andrade in a tiebreak after their semi-final ended 2-2. Endo later beat DeSilva-Andrade 7-0 to take the bronze.

An elated Tan said: “I’m touched by the support. We are not many but I can feel the kampung spirit. I will put all my heart and soul to play the final. With support from my fellow Singaporeans, we will brave this together.”

Boccia means “to bowl” in Italian. The aim of the game, played by wheelchair-using athletes with motor-skill impairment, is to bowl balls as close as possible to a white target ball known as the jack.

At the end of each of the four rounds for individual matches, the player whose ball is closest to the jack scores one point. He or she receives an additional point for every ball that sits nearer to the jack than the opponent’s closest ball.

In a clash of styles, Tan, who plays with an underhand toss, opted to throw the jack to the near left corner, while Endo, who has an overhand pitch, preferred to place the jack in the far right corner.

The Singaporean required the referee’s calipers to award her the first point, and she never looked back from then.

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A superb fourth throw by Tan in the second round gave Endo, 38, no way back and she decided not to play her fifth and six throws, after confirming she would get an additional point for a 3-0 lead.

She explained: “I had secured two points, so after analysing there was some risk of the ball turning due to the uneven flooring, I gave up my last two balls.”

The Japanese tried to find a way back in the third round, but Tan was again brilliant with her fourth throw and a final nudge gave her an almost unassailable 5-0 lead with just six points to play for in the final end. The win was confirmed after Endo tossed two balls out of play.

Tan, who has cerebral palsy, has been in superb form at these Paralympics.

In the preliminary-round Pool B matches, she had beaten Aubert 6-1 on Aug 29 and then Spain’s eighth-ranked Amagoia Arrieta 5-1 on Aug 31, before overcoming Brazil’s world No. 1 Andreza Oliveira 7-5 in the quarter-finals.

With her medal, she will become only Singapore’s fourth Paralympic medallist after swimmers Yip Pin Xiu and Theresa Goh and equestrienne Laurentia Tan. She also has the chance to become their second Paralympic champion after Yip, who won two golds at these Games, taking her tally to seven.

Yurnita, who has coached Jeralyn since 2016, said: “I’m so proud of her. With the pressure, anxiety and expectations, she was brave throughout.

“We have strong support, she showed good spirit and a strong heart. We are prepared for the final, where she will need a strong mind and stay focused.”

Meanwhile, at his third Paralympics, compatriot Diroy Noordin finished last out of nine athletes in the men’s shot put F40 final with an 8.68m best from his first throw.

The 32-year-old was ninth at Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and eighth at Tokyo 2020.

Portugal’s Miguel Monteiro won the gold with a Paralympic record of 11.21m, while Mongolia’s Battulga Tsegmid (11.09m) and Iraq’s Garrah Tnaiash (11.03m) claimed silver and bronze respectively.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.