Nagoya, 22 October. Kazakh para-athlete Aisulu Suleimenova ran 100 m in 16.18 seconds at the 5th Asian Para Games in Japan, setting an Asian record in the T62 class, and Kazakhstan's sitting volleyball team reached the final, Kazinform reports.
T62 is the class for runners with prostheses on both legs. With no rivals in her class, Suleimenova ran with T64 athletes, who compete with one prosthesis, and finished fifth overall, but her time was an Asian record in her own class.
The sitting volleyball team was 0–2 down against Iraq in the semi-final but won three sets in a row to win 3–2; in the final the team will play for gold. In W1 para archery, Nurshat Toleukasym won bronze: in the third-place match he beat Thailand's Suphawat Samutchaiyakit 6–2, after losing his semi-final to a Chinese athlete 0–6. In the F36 shot put, Dastan Mukashbekov took silver with 15.47 m and Ivan Zeleznyak bronze with 12.71 m; gold went to Uzbekistan's Bakhtiyorov with an Asian Para Games record of 15.98 m.
What it means: The Games keep bringing Kazakhstan medals and records: a record number of gold medals has been joined by an Asian record in athletics and the sitting volleyball team's place in the final.
Who benefits: The athletes and their coaches: the Asian record counts in the T62 class, even though Suleimenova had to race against runners from another class. The sitting volleyball final could bring another gold.
Background: The 5th Asian Para Games are being held in Aichi and Nagoya, Japan, until 24 October; by 21 October Kazakhstan had 10 gold medals, the country's record at these Games.
List of sources used: Kazinform, Ostanovka
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
