Individual - BC4 Gold Medal Match | Boccia | Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games

this is day eight of the paralympic games and from ariaki gymnastics center an individual mixed gold medal final in bocce slovakia's samuel andre chick in action against thailand's ponchok la pien the bronze medal already secured by zheng of china so for the european and the asian contender a really important moment silver the worst case scenario but a gold on the line and as you can see lapien undefeated in tokyo with five victories in the individual bc4 event during this session at the aryaki gymnastics center we have had some terrific encounters already these two so close as well in the world rankings at the moment andrei chick who is having a warm-up now as you can see he is number six in the world at present la pien ranked seventh alvarez javier alvarez the referee for this final match of the bc4 event [Music] a defeat among the group matches for andrei chick against the man he will try and beat for the first time in tokyo for gold you wonder what an edge that will be in the mental stakes between these two conceding only three points in the group stage and then relatively comfortably winning 6-3 in the quarters and the semis lapien did win a silver medal in this event at rio at the last paralympic games andrei chick taking the silver medal in brazil no massive surprise that these two then are in contention right down to the wire for this very special paralympic games very different paralympic games [Music] they'll be aware that their fan base are not here but will be watching on from back home in thailand fairly close to japan and slovakia in the east in europe [Applause] and all eyes on this final inside the gymnastics center no action on the adjoining courts seth jack midcourt here we've seen in this gymnastics center in the sport hub of ariaki near a aki district of tokyo that if you can get a two or three point lead in the first end you're very much in control of the match [Applause] these ends comprising of four minutes each for the para athletes to get away their six balls lapien playing with blue to match his distinct tie jersey red for slovakia too uniformity bc4 the newest of the categories in botcha the world federation who have embraced these paralympic games fantastically really enjoying the fact that uh there's live coverage of the sport for the first time at the paralympic games they've opened the sport up to athletes with an impairment of a non-cerebral origin so bc4 is a category for athletes who have an impairment that impacts on their strength and or their coordination [Applause] very well placed but it looks as though the red's still closest so it will be a third blue ball for lapien who with the clock still ticking down has decided to go and take a look up close to see what he will do next in a quite a quick start to this first end rpn really almost forced to play cross court following the placement of the jack [Music] [Applause] so a changeover now with the tie finalist closest to the jack andre chick going for power [Applause] sacrificed that ball knocked the jack clear and may well be looking well he's got the option to push on off the red still in play or a lob is nice to come and have a look yeah the red already appears to be ahead of two of the three blues which is obviously good news so maybe he will go for the lob could do and the other thing is i think that's quite a soft ball that he's played at that first one it would have been a softball replacement one so yeah indications suggest the lob is the shot of choice there it is didn't quite get the distance on it andre chick who has been a gold medalist in the pairs event of bc4 at the world championship and at the paralympic games in rio yet to land a world or paralympic games gold as an individual though he did achieve that only a couple of years ago in seville at the european championship definitely another test for lapient yeah try to push on that and uh javier alvarez just going to retrieve the uh red ball which actually ran into one of the cameramen hazard of the job a blue of la pien remains closest fifth ball then for andre chick he takes his time still more than 30 seconds for what will be his last ball well he went short with the the first lob he's gone along with this one this is very much means that the thai athlete is going to be in control of this end that's not to say that he's going to win it but he's certainly going to have last ball and the jack is at the moment quite free that's the one he was looking for i still think that lapien has sight of the jack though from his position he has three balls remaining this the first of those three his fourth overall right tactics become clear here he's gonna try and smash that red ball out of the way this requires a huge amount of accuracy i think he's going to use that first one as a sighter it wasn't too far away actually it wasn't too far away at all but the thing here is so probably a medium ball that's closest to the uh to the jack so it does require power to dislodge it but if he can dislodge it he's probably going to be on for two minutes oh rolls up safety still red closest though trying a safer approach here probably be to do with the fact that he's only got soft or medium balls left rolls up again hits the ball is that one closer eye i'm not sure i think andre may well get this yep in no doubt the official alvarez so an early slender advantage for the slovakian in this gold medal final andre chick leading by one to nil and that's what we like about botcher it can change so dramatically because at one stage it looked as though the tie was in a really good position maybe to score two or three but in the end andre chick making the most of that end and a missed opportunity for lapient [Applause] [Music] a very different approach this time only placed shot to follow the placing of the jack yeah you're right they're shorter in the court and uh that's because uh martian's impairment means that longer throws are a little bit more difficult for him he prefers to play in a shorter court is that touching the line i think it is and will be removed from play but did its job that ball got the jack free you see the wheel power insignia on the back of andre chick's chair ipc have got heavily involved in we the 15 at this paralympic game start of a 10 year a decade long campaign to raise the awareness and the opportunities for all people with impairment of any kind [Applause] his short game's not bad either probably gonna see a little bit of tip for tat here in terms of tactics but it is simpler to displace isn't it then the longer range missiles that need to be sent down the court a quicker end as well with the finalists happier to take less time basically to make their plays landing just where he wanted it so last ball becomes uh the key factor in this one going for power and a smash and let's play that into the open the jack now who is closer it looks like blue is just yeah i think so difficult to tell from the television camera angle but if you look at that one here now he's having a look at this is he gonna play a push on it would be fairly reasonable to think he was but that looks like it might be a soft ball so quite difficult to move so does he play a placement does he even try and knock the jack on or yeah or lob yeah play it over the top let's see he's not made up his mind yet he's repositioning gotta make sure the wheels are not touching the lines looking for the lob i think maybe right pushing on the jack he's just gone past it but he is closer so now it's difficult for uh lapian to push the jack on because it's going to go closer to that red just all of a sudden the tensions just crept up a tiny bit here this is a really close gold medal match rpn who left rio in 2016 with two bronze medals one in the individual events and a bronze in the pairs competition he knows he'll be leaving tokyo in a better position regardless of what happens here but obviously would love to say that he's a paralympic gold medalist changing of the guards again red definitely a shade closer to the jack yeah advantage slovakia that was the penultimate red ball for andre chick now the fifth play the lapian oh yes he did what he wanted to it's one blue is it two no no it's not quite is it it's not quite very very tight so will we get exactly the same tactic from andre check play exactly the same shot just on the left of the jack rather than the right [Music] this is his final ball of the end samuel andre chick [Laughter] of shot that is what a shot that is a brilliant up and over well sorry roll on top it's called uh the stack there absolutely played to perfection had to get the spin and the bounce and the distance from that jack absolutely spot on so a bit of power going to be required but uh the alternative is just to go for that object ball sitting on top of the stack is he going to be brave enough to try and replace it well it's tight enough to be that brave only the one in it no it didn't work did it didn't know and it's called as one red at the moment yes and you can see the blue is just a little tighter come to have a look but that could not have worked out better for sammy or andre chicky that last shot was a thing of beauty yeah that's the first time we've seen a mounted effort successful in this session on day eight of the paralympic games andre chick climbing into a 2-0 lead now heading into the second part of this gold medal match the third end still very close a lot can change of course but andre chick will be very satisfied with how things have started in this final inside the magnificent ariaki gymnastics center [Applause] wow [Applause] i know i know andre chick to place the jack and you feel he will try and go long again to further hurt his opponents indeed he does so not as far as last time in the first end first red bull for the slovakian one of the younger contenders in bc4 age 24 that pretty handy it looks like the uh it's nailed the distance you want you want to have a little gap between yourself and the jack so that you can knock the ball on if possible but it's also guarding a jack pretty well now of course lapien is a little bit further to the right as compared to his opponent so we'll be able to see more of the jack than his opponent but not a bad effort um goes for a smash there but failed was he aiming to take the jack out there probably trying to dislodge the red just moved the red out of the way because it would suit him wouldn't it to have it yeah reposition good point good point you'll have to ask him afterwards we can only guess what these guys are are intending to play i think it's probably more likely that he was trying to knock the red free second ball for lapient oh i think maybe now you're right he's trying to jack out the danger now is that he's already used two balls so it's still advantage for android chick yeah three to complete the mission is a little wasteful i would say at this level yes i agree but a placement shot rolling up there but the jack you can see you look down towards the players through the balls the jack is almost 100 visible to andre chick um that is not bad again a bit of distance from the jack but that's not a bad thing because you can knock that ball on the advantage here for andre chick is of course his prowess long range wise interestingly he was quite far away from the line when he opted to play that red in and again as well you can't quite see it at the moment from the camera angle oh what a shot that is that is a thing of beauty [Applause] he is right up close to the jack with that his third ball of the third end how will lapien respond looks like he's going for her placement maybe with a ricochet no lobs it up rolls it in oh i think that's just a little shy but only just and this has come down i think as you've alluded to the distance game playing in favor of the slovakian still a handy shot though ahead of the final end to keep the damage potentially somewhat limited locks on still red closest so now what does andre chich do here because he doesn't want to dislodge that crucial red does he with whatever he does choose to go for that's a big no yeah agreed but is he going to roll on top again well he he can certainly pull it off yes he could roll on top here it's not going to do anything to his red ball that will remain closer if he can hit the blue ball next to the red and roll on top of that it will automatically put him right next to the jack with a second ball and that would be two points and that will be very damaging for laption yeah because he would be touching by virtue of the red lodged higher up off the court and then the existing red would be the second wouldn't it absolutely it is a fascinating sport this botcher really good to have your company if you're watching for the first time all right use that as a sighter the softer ball that's maybe blocked the way now he's moved up in the players box is that just to have a look or is it repositioning it's repositioning if he can play the same shot as he did last time here he's got a chance here of rolling on top here we actually played a push on she's trying to get a second ball through the push but only gets the single point but it's another point advantage [Applause] he's quietly creeping through this gold medal match samuel andre chick that will certainly be enough if he keeps on doing what he's doing at the moment winning a point in each end and both players will have their assistance collect their balls as we have confirmation that it is one point in each end so three nil at the moment andrei chick leads against lapien on course the slovakian to claim the gold medal on day eight of the paralympic games [Music] bye a crucial final end and unsurprisingly characteristically la piena opting to go for the short game to aid his quest to turn this around and get the gold medal [Applause] not quite alongside the jack as andre chick will respond his to lose there's no need for him to take any risks in this crucial final end i just wanted to separate the jack and the blue ball of lapient perhaps now a placed shot to follow not quite what he wanted he's left that very open so rpm here could just throw a placement up between the red and the jack that will make things a little tricky for a slovakian so how much of that jack can andre see here probably enough now does he try and smash this out of court probably be the winning shot if he does you called it he has opted to play out the jack and that could be decisive with his advantage three points to nothing the jack repositioned and territory which is even for both players perhaps even more suited to andre chick a very well placed fourth ball from the slovakian [Applause] up close to the jack and a fist pump to celebrate he knows he is on course for this gold medal yeah he sure does it's going to be extremely tricky now for horn chuck lapien to get three and he's uh made it well impossible tried to smash the pair of balls in the penalty area and that's gone out still a silver medal though paralympic games you won't give up but i wonder if we're going to see samuel andreichik even return to the playing court here only extending the gap between the jack and the red ball ever so slightly with his fourth plate ball number five from the thai who won the bronze medal in rio five years ago he is still furthest away from the jack and the smile of andre chick says it all he is on the verge of something great and there we have it it is still the case that we'll have just one more play from andre chick at the very least so he is back good to see him come out and shoot these final balls here is a moment of glory and there it is a history maker once again he won his country's first ever individual medal at the paralympic games in boccia in brazil and now he has landed a first ever individual gold for slovakia samuel andre chick upgraded in tokyo from the silver to the gold jubilation for him and his assistant and those inside the ariaki gymnastics center of a slovakian persuasion four nil very professional display a point each in every end for andre chick taking it 4-0 and winning gold silver for la pien [Music] welcome back inside the ariaki gymnastics center for the individual mixed bc4 victory ceremony bronze silver and gold to be given out after the final session in this category of botcher and it's been a really lively entertaining day eight at this the venue for bocce still one of the new sports at the paralympic games relatively speaking ladies and gentlemen [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] so in a few moments time we will see samuel andre chick porn choc lapien [Applause] and the para athletes from slovakia [Applause] thailand and hong kong china [Applause] a proud moment for the three you are the ones who make it until the end [Applause] [Music] [Applause] of the paralympic committee officials to present the medals [Music] [Applause] alongside one of the vice director generals from tokyo 2020 yamamoto to cashy [Applause] [Music] hearing the national anthem two these nations [Applause] first up the 36 year old a bronze medal winner for hong kong china in the bc4 boccia mixed individual events [Applause] he knows what it's like to win a paralympic medal [Applause] the gold medalist in rio in the individual category he also took gold in athens in 2004 so he has really been able to stay the distance over time [Applause] also a world champion too individually and as a pair [Applause] thailand's porn choc la next to get the silver medal [Applause] he won the bronze in rio so it's a move up to silver and you can tell the emotion on his part as he's recognized here in the japanese capital [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] only the second silver medal on the world stage in his career and last but not least the [Music] very professional samuel andre chick a close but convincing four points to zero win in the end to take the gold medal at tokyo 2020 defeating pornchok lapien in the decider and how good does that look gold around his neck the first time he has won gold as an individual an upgrade for him as well from rio he took silva on that occasion he's now the main man [Applause] and the first individual gold for him either at the paralympic games or the world championship he previously has won a gold in pairs at both the paralympic games in the world championship and now we break for the anthem of the champion [Music] [Applause] for this [Applause] so gold for andre chick and the silver medal for la pien [Music] meanwhile the victor on the bronze front and that completes the victory ceremony for botcher individual mixed bc4 we still have bc one two and three to be completed as the top three athletes pose for a photograph [Music] slightly further away from one another than they would be in more normal times and nice to see their assistants get up there as well on the podium very briefly at the end and they are getting a bit closer but obviously with their face masks on andre chick [Music] managing to come through his gold medal final with lapien without conceding a point [Music] and andre chick were before the paralympic games sixth and seventh in the world that will change [Applause] and lung just keeps on going aged 36 and once more able to walk away with a medal from the paralympic games [Applause]