Singaporeans have a new sporting hero after Jeralyn Tan won a silver medal at the Paris Paralympics.
This is Singapore’s first-ever medal in this sport.
Jeralyn Tan with her coach Yurnita Omar. Source: Singapore National Paralympic Council via Lawrence Wong on Facebook
Tan, 35, was competing in the women’s individual BC1 final on Monday (2 Sept), against Frenchwoman Aurelie Aubert.
Source: Sport Singapore via Alvin Tan on Facebook
While she had previously beaten Aubert 6-1 in the preliminary pool round, she ended up suffering a narrow 5-4 defeat in the final.
This however still ensured Tan a silver medal on her Paralympic debut.
Tan was guaranteed a medal nonetheless after defeating previously unbeaten Japanese World No. 1 Endo Hiromi 5-1 in the semi-final.
Tan’s silver medal puts her in an exclusive club.
She’s now only the fourth Singaporean to have won a Paralympic medal, after swimmers Yip Pin Xiu and Theresa Goh, and equestrian Laurentia Tan.
She has also won Singapore’s first medal in boccia.
Source: Team Singapore on Facebook
Boccia, which means “to bowl” in Italian, is a game played by athletes with motor-skill impairment on a wheelchair. The objective is to bowl balls towards a white target ball.
Players win points depending on how close they are to the target compared with their opponent.
There to witness the historic result was Minister for Community, Culture and Sport Edwin Tong, who said Tan’s whole family was cheering her on in Paris.
Source: Edwin Tong on Facebook
Interestingly, he said Tan’s cousin-in-law is French, which put him in “a bit of bind” for the final since Tan’s opponent was French.
In the end, family came first as he cheered for Tan.
Source: Edwin Tong on Facebook
Saluting Tan for her achievement, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Facebook that she displayed “great skill and judgement” as well as “an extra-cool mind”.
He said that she first learnt the sport at the age of 16 when a teacher at Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore encouraged her to try it, adding:
Her story shows how giving people the opportunities to cross the hurdles they face in life can produce a bit of magic.
The President also thanked her coach Yurnita Omar who has been by her side for eight years.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong congratulated Tan in a Facebook post of his own, saying she had made history.
He also thought it was “especially meaningful” that she’s a resident of his ward, Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC.
Also read: Yip Pin Xiu clinches gold in 50m backstroke event, completes 3rd Paralympics double
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Featured image adapted from Edwin Tong on Facebook and Team Singapore on Facebook.
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