SELANGOR: A three-gold haul and two new Games records gave Richard Bada plenty to celebrate as the Sarawak para athlete completed a perfect campaign in the men’s F41 throwing events.
The 33-year-old from Kampung Segenam, Serian, sealed his clean sweep with victory in the men’s F41 discus throw at Stadium UiTM Shah Alam today (Sept 8), adding to the shot put and javelin titles he had already secured.
Richard opened his campaign with gold in the men’s F41 shot put on Monday (Sept 7), producing a throw of 8.09 metres to claim the title and set a new Games record.
Later that evening, he added his second gold in the men’s F41 javelin throw with a 22.85m effort, which also saw him rewrite the Games record.
He completed his golden run in the discus throw with a winning mark of 24.76m, comfortably ahead of Terengganu’s Ammar Zill Qayyim, who recorded 20.08m, while Kelantan’s Muhamad Nur Nazhan took bronze with 18.57m.
For Richard, the achievement was especially satisfying given the stronger competition he faced this year compared with the previous edition.
“I am very proud and happy that I was able to break the records in two events.
“The competition this time was quite tough compared with the previous edition because there were more competitors,” he told reporters after the discus event.
Richard said he wanted to dedicate his three gold medals to his teammates and Sarawak as a gesture of appreciation for their support.
“I want to dedicate these three gold medals to my teammates and Sarawak,” he said.
His three victories across the shot put, javelin and discus also underlined his consistency across the throwing disciplines, giving Sarawak another strong showing in para athletics.
