SINGAPORE – After two bronze medals on consecutive days, Singapore swimmer Toh Wei Soong will “go out swinging” in his bid to end his gold drought at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games (APG).

On Oct 20, the 28-year-old bagged his second bronze medal after clocking 1min 05.33sec to finish behind China’s Zhang Yilong (1:03.66) and Uzbekistan’s Sardor Bakhtiyorov (1:04.91) in the men’s 100m freestyle S7 final.

He had won the event at his first APG in Indonesia eight years ago, but it was not contested in China in 2023, when he returned with three golds and one silver.

At the Nagoya City General Gymnasium on Oct 19, he had grabbed third place in the 400m freestyle S7 to win Singapore’s first medal at the Games in Japan.

He said after claiming his ninth medal in three editions of the continental event on Oct 20: “With para sports, sometimes you’ll never know what you’re going to experience at a major Games.

“Some of the athletes I’m up against, I’ve never competed with. You just have to keep your wits about you and stay on your toes and try to go out swinging as best as you can. I’m looking forward to the next three days of racing.”

Toh, who has transverse myelitis, a condition caused by inflammation of the spinal cord that restricts the use of his legs, will be bidding to retain his titles from 2023 in the 50m butterfly (Oct 21), 100m backstroke (Oct 22) and 50m freestyle (Oct 23). He is a two-time defending champion in the 50m free.

Determined to give his best in his remaining races, he said: “Nothing is guaranteed in sports... I’m looking forward to competing in my pet event (50m free), keeping things simple and focusing on what I can control.”

It has been a busy year for Toh, who has won medals in all three major Games he competed in in 2026 – the ASEAN Para Games, Commonwealth Games and APG. Before the APG, he and his coach Ang Peng Siong had a staging camp at Chukyo University in Toyota.

Elsewhere in the pool, compatriot Wong Zhi Wei finished fourth in the men’s 400m freestyle S13 final in 4:38.19, behind Uzbekistan duo Dmitriy Khorlin (4:21.32) and Egor Bolotov (4:21.94), and Qatar’s Shamil Shahov (4:33.09).

The 24-year-old, who has visual impairment, was fourth again in the 100m breaststroke SB13 in 1:13.50. Japan’s Genki Saito (1:12.74), Shahov (1:13.17) and Iran’s Abadi Karimi Jahan (1:13.47) finished on the podium.

Compatriot Sophie Soon, a visually impaired athlete who swims in the S11 category, finished sixth in the women’s 100m breaststroke SB13 in 1:33.93, with Uzbekistan’s Mubinabonu Khalilova (1:19.60) and Muslima Odilova (1:30.11) sandwiching Japan’s Ayano Tsujiuchi (1:25.69) on the podium.

Over in shooting, Daniel Chan set a new national record of 571 points to qualify in fourth place out of 22 athletes in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1 event on his 39th birthday. In the final, he finished sixth with 150.1 points at the Aichi Prefecture General Shooting Gallery.

South Korea’s world-record holder Jo Jeong-du won gold in a Games record 241.3 points, and was joined on the podium by India’s Manish Narwal (233.7) and China’s Yang Chao (213.6).

Chan, who has obstetrical brachial plexus palsy affecting his left arm and held the previous national mark of 565 en route to finishing fifth at the last APG in 2023, quipped: “This is definitely the most stressful birthday I have ever had.”

But he was delighted with his performance after “disappointments” at the World Cup and world championships earlier in 2026 .

He added: “I knew that the level of competition would be just as high as at the world level. So, my initial goal was to shoot around my usual average of 565 and making it into the final would be a bonus. To finish with a score of 571 and break the national record was definitely a pleasant surprise.

“More importantly, this result is a huge confidence boost for me. It reassures me that I do have the ability to perform under competition pressure and translate what I have been doing in training into competition results. I am excited to see how much further I can push myself in the future. ”

In the women’s 10m air pistol SH1 qualification, former para-swimmer Theresa Goh placed 18th out of 24 athletes with 534 points.

Meanwhile, Team Singapore are assured of at least a silver in archery, where Nur Syahidah Alim successfully navigated three rounds of competition in a day to reach the para compound women’s final.

The 41-year-old, who was born with diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy marked by stiff lower limbs and difficulty walking or standing for extended periods of time, beat Kazakhstan’s Zhanat Aitimova 143-139 in the last 16, another Kazakh Aizada Seidan 143-139 in the quarter-finals, and China’s Xu Xueqing 145-144 in the semi-finals.

She will take on India’s Sheetal Devi in the final on Oct 22, hoping to improve on the silver she clinched at the previous edition.

A total of 20 athletes, including eight debutants, are representing Singapore in nine para-sports at the Aichi-Nagoya Games. Besides swimming, shooting and archery, Singapore’s para-athletes are also competing in athletics, badminton, boccia, cycling (road), judo and table tennis.