Indonesian gold medalists Ramdani Hikmat and Leani Ratri (center pair), as well as silver medalists Khalimatus Sadiyah and Fredy Setiawan (left pair) gesture, while French bronze medalists Faustine Noel and Lucas Mazur look on as they stand for the Indonesian national anthem, ‘Indonesia Raya’, during the medal ceremony for the mixed doubles SL3/SU5 badminton category at the Paris 2024 Paralympics on Sept. 2, 2024. (Reuters/Jennifer Lorenzini)
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ndonesia's para-badminton team delivered an extraordinary performance in the 2024 Paralympic Games after winning a total of eight medals in Paris on Monday, the highest in history.
Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani won Indonesia's first Paralympics gold medal in the mixed doubles SL3/SU5 category after securing a victory in an all-Indonesian final against Khalimatus Sadiyah and Fredy Setiawan, who snatched silver.
The SL3/SU5 category is for athletes who play standing with a lower limb impairment and those with impairment of the upper limbs, including the playing or non-playing hand.
Leani said it was quite an emotional victory because she had to face her previous partner Khalimatus, with whom she secured gold in the women's doubles at the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics.
"I feel like I can play more freely if I fight against opponents from another country. However, I am happy that I returned to my best performance. I lost quite a bit of confidence after I gave birth to my son [in 2022]," she said.
Leani also garnered a silver medal for Indonesia through the women's singles SL4 category for athletes exhibiting lower extremity impairment and mild balance problems after she lost to China's Cheng He Fang.
It was their second meeting in the women's singles final after the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics in which Leani also lost to Cheng.