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Tokyo Paralympics: TeamSG athletes commended on 2nd-best medal showing

Gold medallist Singapore's Yip Pin Xiu celebrates on the podium after the women's 50m backstroke (S2) final at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. (PHOTO: Sport Singapore)
Gold medallist Singapore's Yip Pin Xiu celebrates on the podium after the women's 50m backstroke (S2) final at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. (PHOTO: Sport Singapore)

SINGAPORE — While Team Singapore completed their 2020 Tokyo Paralympics competitions with two gold medals, five national records and seven personal bests, Singapore National Paralympic Council chairman Teo-Koh Sock Miang believes that the Games is start of the journey for many of the athletes.

This is Singapore's second-best medal haul in nine appearances at the Paralympics, behind the two golds and one bronze earned at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. A total of 10 athletes participated in six sports in Tokyo.

Swimmer Yip Pin Xiu became the first Singaporean to successfully retain her gold medals, as she repeated her 2016 triumphs in the women's 50m and 100m backstroke (S2) events.

"To be able to successfully defend my titles has been my dream for the last five years. I am ecstatic and I am honoured to bring glory to Singapore," she said in a media release on Saturday (4 September).

"This has been a long and challenging journey, but hearing Majulah Singapura and seeing our flag flying high at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre, made it all worth it."

Besides Yip's stellar performances, Teo-Koh also praised the four athletes who made their Paralympic debuts in Tokyo: powerlifter Nur'Aini Mohamad Yasli, cyclist Steve Tee (with pilot Ang Kee Meng), and swimmers Sophie Soon and Toh Wei Soong.

“With the four athletes successfully making their debut at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, and the experienced athletes continuing to perform well, the mix of youth and experience has proven to be successful and will be the way forward for Team Singapore," she said.

"The team will now embark on preparations for the next Paralympic cycle and the memories created from Tokyo will be long lasting. More than that, I am hopeful that more persons with disabilities are compelled to step forward to give sport a chance."

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong also commended the athletes on their Tokyo Paralympics performances in a Facebook post on Saturday.

"Throughout the Paralympics, I witnessed first-hand their fortitude, strength and excellence. They have shown all of us the power of the possible - that Singapore can compete with the world’s best," he wrote in his post.

"It has not been an easy journey for them, especially amid these uncertain times. I hope their stories have inspired all of us to be resilient in overcoming challenges, and to dare to dream big."

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