Photo from left to right of Nurulasyiqah Mohd Taha and her athlete competition partner, Nur Azizah Binti Ahmad Rumzi, Aloysius Gan and his athlete competition partner, Eve Cher. Credit: Singapore Disability Sports Council
Team Singapore boccia athlete Nurulasyiqah Mohd Taha, 40, secured a bronze medal in the BC3 Female Individual event at the Beijing 2025 World Boccia Cup on Thursday, marking her first individual World Cup medal in her 21-year sporting career.
Competing against a world-class field, the current World No. 24 Nurulasyiqah began her campaign on 7 June with a narrow 4-4 tie-break loss to World No. 4 Sonia Heckel. She bounced back with a commanding 6-1 victory over World No. 5 Evani Calado, before advancing to the knockout stage.
In the play off match, she defeated Australia’s Paris 2024 Paralympics silver medallist Jamieson Leeson 5-3 to secure a place in the semi-finals, where she faced South Korea’s Paris 2024 bronze medallist Sunhee Kang. Despite a 5-1 loss, Nurulasyiqah returned with resilience to face World No. 1 and reigning Paris 2024 gold medallist, Hong Kong’s Yuen Kei Ho, in the bronze medal match where she delivered a commanding 5-2 win to earn her spot on the podium.
“I’m incredibly grateful to my ramp operator and athlete competition partner, Nur Azizah, who has been training with me patiently since 2017. This bronze medal is as much hers as it is mine,” said Nurulasyiqah. “Once we return from this tournament, our focus will be on sustaining the skills and momentum we’ve built.”
The bronze medal builds on Nurulasyiqah’s strong comeback to the international scene, which began in late 2023 after nearly three years away due to COVID-19 restrictions. Last year, she returned to form by capturing gold at the 2024 Pajulahti World Boccia Challenger in Finland, her first top finish since winning gold at the 2014 Montreal Boccia World Open. Later in the year, Nurulasyiqah made history alongside teammate Aloysius Gan by securing Singapore’s first-ever World Cup Pairs medal at the New Taipei City 2024 World Boccia Cup. These podium finishes underscore a remarkable resurgence in her boccia career.
The Beijing tournament also saw the continuation of Nurulasyiqah’s successful partnership with Gan, 18. The duo kicked off their BC3 Pairs campaign yesterday and delivered a performance that culminated in a silver medal today, marking Singapore’s best-ever performance in this category at a World Boccia Cup.
The duo overcame formidable opponents, including a 4-2 win over China’s pair, medallists from the 2023 Asian Para Games, and bounced back from a narrow 4-3 defeat to Japan’s Masayuki Arita and Ayane Ichinoe with a stunning victory over Paris 2024 silver medallists and World No. 2 pairs from South Korea, Jong Ho Kwon and Sunhee Kang, in the pool rounds. In the semi-finals, the Singapore pair beat Brazil’s Mateus Carvalho and Evani Calado 3-1, before meeting Japan again in the finals. In a thrilling showdown, Singapore pushed their opponents to the limit, with Japan narrowly securing a 3-2 win in the very last second.
Gan said: “I would like to dedicate this silver medal that I won in pairs at the Beijing World Boccia Cup to my dad cum coach!”
Gan also delivered a strong showing in the BC3 Male Individual category, finishing fourth overall. He narrowly missed a podium finish after a tough 5-2 loss against France’s Paris 2024 quarterfinalist Jules Menard in the bronze medal match.
