Held every four years just after the Asian Games, the Para Games kicked off last Saturday, with over 2,400 disabled athletes from 43 countries vying for the top honour in 23 sport disciplines.

After bagging 20 gold medals and fifth place at the debut Asian Para Games in Guangzhou, China four years ago, Thailand sent a strong delegation of 323 athletes and officials to test their mettle in 15 sports in Incheon.

After seven days of fierce competition against some of the world's best disabled athletes from powerhouses such as China, Japan, South Korea and Iran, Thailand captured a total of 21 gold, 39 silver and 47 bronze medals in Incheon, improving on their Guangzhou showing four years ago.

Gold-medal performances came from London Paralympic 2012 veterans including Pattaya Tadthong, two boccia players, Rungroj Thainiyom in table tennis, and wheelchair racer Prawat Wahoram.

China retained their overall Games title with a medal haul of 174 golds. Hosts South Korea finished a distant second place with 72 golds, while Japan were third with 38. Iran and Uzbekistan finished fourth and fifth with 37 and 22 gold medals respectively.(KH)