SINGAPORE — Nur’Aini Mohamad Yasli became the first Singapore Paralympian to compete in powerlifting, as she came in sixth out of nine athletes in the women’s under-45kg division at the Tokyo Paralympics on Thursday (26 August).
The 29-year-old lifted 77kg at the Tokyo International Forum to finish behind gold winner Latifat Tijani of Nigeria, who lifted 107kg. China’s Cui Zhe (102kg) earned the silver medal, while the bronze medal went to Poland’s Justyna Kozdryk (101kg).
Nur’Aini had qualified for the Tokyo Paralympics after lifting a personal-best 81kg as she won a bronze medal at the Fazza Dubai Para Powerlifting World Cup in June.
She was diagnosed at age six with multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, which impacted her bone growth. This did not stop her from taking up powerlifting in 2017 via veteran national powerlifter Kalai Vanen.
Maximillian Tan finishes 11th in dressage competition
Meanwhile at the Equestrian Park, para-equestrienne Maximillian Tan scored 61.559 points with his horse Don’s Day Dream in the dressage individual test (Grade II) to finish 11th out of 12 contestants.
The 34-year-old did not advance to the individual freestyle test event, with only the top eight competitors entering the competition.
Tan, who has cerebral palsy, is competing in his third straight Paralympics. He had finished 10th in the individual test (Grade 1b) competition on 59.862 points at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
He will next compete in the team test to music event on Saturday, together with fellow Singapore equestriennes Gemma Rose Foo and Laurentia Tan.
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