SINGAPORE – Four years after ditching Paralympic sailing for boccia, Singapore’s Jovin Tan harvested his richest reward yet: gold at the Montreal 2026 World Boccia Cup, dominating the BC1 men’s category with a perfect 6-0 run on Labour Day.
The world No. 15, born with cerebral palsy limiting mobility below his neck, stunned five higher-ranked foes at Arena Maurice-Richard, including world No. 1 John Loung of Hong Kong. “I aimed for a podium, not gold , no pressure against such talent,” the 39-year-old executive assistant told reporters. “All the grind paid off; I’m thrilled.”
Boccia, Italian for “bowl,” challenges wheelchair athletes with motor impairments to roll balls nearest a white jack. Points tally per round for closer balls, with individual matches spanning four ends.
Tan ignited April 28 with an 11-0 rout of Brazil’s No. 7 Jose Chagas, then a 6-5 thriller over Loung, Paris 2024 Paralympic champ. He blanked Chile’s No. 82 Danilo Diaz 11-0 and edged Japan’s No. 13 Takumi Nakamura 5-2, topping Pool A as underdog.
Semis brought a 4-3 squeaker over Mexico’s No. 11 Eduardo Reyes on April 30, capped by a 3-1 final win versus South Korea’s Paris silver medalist Jung Sung-joon on May 1. “I played smart , accuracy, variety, focus, enjoying it over obsessing on wins,” Tan said.
Coach Yurnita Omar praised his tactical evolution: “Jovin’s critical thinking pressured every end, with sharper decisions and unshakable poise in clutch moments.”
A trailblazing sailor at Athens 2004 through Rio 2016, sans Paralympic medal, Tan pivoted post-Tokyo 2020 when sailing dropped out. He nabbed Asian Para Games gold in Incheon 2014, his first boccia international in Canberra November 2025, and Asean Para Games gold in Thailand January.
“This is just the start; Paralympics qualification demands more events for ranking points,” said Tan, crediting employer ChapmanCG and Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC) for flexibility.
SDSC’s Kelly Fan hailed his arc: “From newbie tossing half-court to tormenting top challengers – pure grit on and off the court.”
Singapore doubled up May 1 as Jeralyn Tan, Paris 2024 historic silver medalist and world No. 3, snagged BC1 women’s bronze. After a 12-2 semis loss to Japan’s No. 1 Hiromi Endo, she crushed Israel’s No. 15 Orit Kelner 6-0 for third, while Endo fell 5-2 to Brazil’s No. 8 Andreza Oliveira in the final. Both TAns eye the Astana 2026 World Boccia Cup June 1-8.