Hidetaka Sugimura, left, of Japan celebrates after winning the gold medal in the boccia mixed individual BC2 match against Watcharaphon Vongsa of Thailand at the Tokyo Paralympics on Sept. 1, 2021, at Ariake Gymnastics Centre in Tokyo. (Kyodo)
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Hidetaka Sugimura put on a dominant display of boccia to win Japan's first-ever Paralympic gold in the sport, taking a 5-0 win in the individual BC2 final on Wednesday in Tokyo.
Facing Thailand's Watcharaphon Vongsa, the reigning gold medalist in the event, Sugimura, 39, got out to a fast start and then forced home his advantage.
He put two points on the board in the first end and then added three more in the subsequent three to complete the whitewash.
"I hope this gold medal will be an opportunity for many people to find out about boccia," Sugimura said after the medal ceremony.
Earlier Wednesday evening, visually impaired swimmer Keiichi Kimura won his first medal of the Tokyo Games when he snagged silver in the men's SB11 100-meter breaststroke.
"It's my first medal (in Tokyo), so I feel accomplished. It was a very close race, but I'm glad I was able to get into the top three," Kimura said.
"I have gained confidence after winning this medal. It was a very close race, and I felt like there was one extra stroke (to go), but I think it was a great time."
The 30-year-old Tokyoite touched in 1 minute, 11.78 to finish just over half a second behind Rogier Dorsman, who has won three gold medals at these games for the Netherlands.
Dorsman has been something of a bogeyman for Japanese swimmers having been joined on the podium after each event by a home nation representative.
German Markus Rehm lived up to the hype at the National Stadium, the much-talked-about "Blade Jumper" taking men's T64 long jump gold with an 8.18-meter leap.
He did not get near his own world record, nor near the 8.41 distance that secured gold at the recent Olympics as was speculated he might, but he did defend his Paralympic title on a wet and cool Tokyo night.
Shingo Kunieda was tested for the first time in the men's wheelchair tennis WT class singles tournament when sixth-seeded Frenchman Stephane Houdet took him to a first-set tiebreak.
The multi-Grand Slam and Paralympic gold-winning Japanese prevailed 7-6(7) and then claimed the second set 6-3 to move into the semifinal.
Kunieda will have to overcome Briton Gordon Reid, the fifth seed, if he wants a shot at his third singles Paralympic gold, and first since 2012.
"From the quarterfinals, anyone can win. It was a tough game," said Kunieda.
"It was important to make a move first. I managed to make adjustments after trailing. It was a promising performance leading up to the semifinals."
Yui Kamiji and Momoko Ohtani ran into the dynamic Dutch duo of Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot, the top seeds cruising to a 6-4, 6-2 doubles semifinal win over the Japanese.
In the men's wheelchair basketball quarterfinals, Japan toughed out a 61-55 win over Australia to book a semifinal against Britain.
Hiroaki Kozai continued his heroic Tokyo Games, scoring 20 points with stat-stuffer Renshi Chokai doing his thing again -- totaling 15 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.
Japan's women's goalball squad put together a dominant display to take a 4-1 win over Israel in the teams' quarterfinal meeting, moving into the semifinals for the first time at the Paralympics since winning gold in London in 2012.
Norika Hagiwara hauled the load for the home team, scoring all four goals, one a penalty, on 56 throws.
Badminton made its Paralympic debut on Wednesday, having been added to the games program in Tokyo.
WH1 class player Sarina Satomi, the 2019 world champion in her division, was the first Japanese to get a win in the sport at the Paralympics, 2-0 over Kang Jung Kum in their group phase meeting.
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