Tokyo Paralympics: David Smith fights back to win boccia gold
And for the third time in his career, Britain’s most successful boccia player took the gold in a stunning fightback against Paralympic debutant Chew Wei Lun.
Smith had bristled from a poor start which saw his Malaysian opponent take a 2-0 lead after the first end.
But in his fourth Paralympic Games, his experience showed as he piled the pressure on his opponent to eventually take the win 4-2 on the fourth and final end.
Smith, who boasts a degree in aerospace engineering degree, got a point back on end two and made the scores level going into the finale with his final throw of the third end.
A great fifth ball on the final end moved him into the ascendancy and a rare error by his less experienced opponent ensured his final throw was not needed to give him the gold with a throw to spare.
It marked a 30th Paralympic gold for Team GB in Japan and proved an emotional one for the 2016 individual champion in Smith, who burst into tears in the aftermath.
