Dubai 2017
The 2017 Dubai Asian Youth Para Games or also known as the 3rd Asian Youth Para Games was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 10th December 2017 to 13th December 2018, featuring 7 sports; Athletics, Badminton, Boccia, GoalBall, Powerlifting, Swimming and Table Tennis.
Singapore sent a contingent of 57 people; 28 athletes, 19 officials and 10 secretariats, competing in Athletics, Badminton, Boccia, Swimming and Table Tennis. The flag bearer for the games was Wong Zhi Wei and the contingent was led by Chef-De-Mission, Ms Yip Pin Xiu. Ms Yip Pin Xiu is a Singaporean swimmer who specialises in backstroke. She is a three-time Paralympic gold medallist and a one-time IPC gold medallist, holding two world records in the 50m backstroke S2 and the 100m backstroke S2.
Team Singapore managed to bring home 5 Gold, 6 Silver, 7 Bronze, a total of 18 Medals, with the Swimming Team bagging the most medals. They attained a total of 10 medals – 3 Gold, 3 Silver, 4 Bronze – an outstanding feat.
The first gold medal was clinched in Men’s 100M Butterfly S11-S13 by Youth Paralympian Wong Zhi Wei on the 11th of December 2017 after the Opening Ceremony and it was his personal best. He also won the next 2 gold medals for Team Singapore in Men’s 400m Freestyle S11-S13 and Men’s 100m Freestyle S11-S13.
Also, Lionel Toh Jun Jie won a gold medal for the athletics team despite suffering from an injury since September in the Men’s 100m T37 (Under 20). His newly added teammate, Muhammad Nur Ariq Bin Yaakab, also won a gold medal for the team in the Men’s 400m T20 (Under 18) despite not having much time to prepare for the race.