Kuala Lumpur: Sabah-born Wong Kar Gee struck gold for Malaysia in the men’s long jump T12 (visual impairment) at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games on Thursday, securing the nation’s sixth gold medal.
The 35-year-old Kota Kinabalu-born athlete leapt 6.74 metres on his second attempt at Mizuho Park Athletic Stadium in Nagoya to claim his maiden gold at the Games, improving on the silver he won at the 2018 edition in Jakarta-Palembang.
Uzbekistan’s Sevinchbek Khusanov took silver with 6.54m, while Japan’s Daiki Ishiyama settled for bronze with 6.48m.
Malaysia’s Mohd Arman Rosli narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth in the men’s long jump T36 (physical impairment) with a best effort of 5.27m.
China’s Yang Yifei won gold with 5.60m, followed by Uzbekistan’s Doston Kahhorov with 5.42m and Izzat Turgunov with 5.33m.
Malaysia’s gold medal haul also received a boost on Wednesday when national para badminton star Cheah Liek Hou and partner Mohamad Faris Ahmad Azri won the men’s doubles SU5 (physical impairment) title after an unbeaten run.
The victory marked Liek Hou’s third personal Para Asian Games gold in the event, following his triumphs with Suhaili Laiman in 2010 and 2014.
Swimmer Muhammad Nur Syaiful Zulkafli also successfully defended his men’s 100m breaststroke SB4 (physical impairment) title, setting a new Games record of 1 minute 41.44 seconds at Nagoya City General Gymnasium.
Malaysia’s other gold medallists include powerlifter Bonnie Bunyau Gustin in the men’s under-72kg category, long jumper Datuk Abdul Latif Romly in the T20 event and cyclist Zuhairie Ahmad Tarmizi in the 1,000m C4-C5 time trial.
