Three of the national swimmers created a sensation when they broke the Games records in the 12th edition of the biennial Games.
Adib Iqbal Abdullah got the ball rolling when he erased his own meet record in the men’s 100m breaststroke SB14 (intellectual impairment) category by clocking 1:09.54s to pip Filipino Ariel Joseph Montarde (1:13.59s) and Singaporean Darren Wei (1:18.82s).
The 23-year-old Adib Iqbal’s old mark of 1:10.87s was set at the previous edition in Solo, Indonesia.
Adib Iqbal said he was delighted to have defended the gold medal through sheer hard work.
“I am very happy because I managed to defend the gold medal and break the (meet) record. I only did my best and I dedicate the win to my family, who have given me their unwavering support,” he told reporters today.
National woman para swimmer Carmen Lim followed suit, bagging gold in the 100m breaststroke SB8 (physical impairment) category by clocking 1:41.32s to erase the old Games mark of 1:42.58s set by Myanmar’s Thin Thin Khaine at the 2015 edition in Singapore.
Thailand’s Chaiwong Peakaithip (1:46.32s) took silver and Vietnam’s Thi My Le (1:47.83s) settled for bronze.
Seventeen-year-old Imaan Aiman Muhammad Redzuan was the third record-breaker when he powered his way to victory in the men’s 50m backstroke S14 (intellectual impairment) by clocking 28.51s to erase his own previous Games mark of 29.27s.
Malaysia’s Duran Yaspi Imam Basori finished second in 30.01s while Indonesia’s Fathur Rizky (31.76s) came in third.
The other three gold medals were delivered by Abd Halim Mohammad, who won in two categories – men’s 100m breaststroke and 100m freestyle SB8 (physical impairment) – and Fraidden Dawan in the men’s 400m freestyle S10 (physical impairment) event.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s two silver medals came from Duran Yaspi in the men’s 50m backstroke S14 (intellectual impairment) and Rusdianto Rusmadi in the men’s 400m freestyle S8 (physical impairment) as Carmen Lim bagged a bronze in the women’s 100m freestyle S7-8 (physical impairment) category.