Hung competing against Wang in the quarterfinals. Photo: SNPC/Goh Si Wei
On her ASEAN Para Games debut in January, goalball athlete-turned-para judoka battled through four gruelling bouts in just three hours to claim silver.
Her maiden Asian Para Games campaign, however, presented a different test of endurance.
Having only just recovered from the flu and still nursing a fractured toe, Hung had to contend with a “nerve-wracking” five-hour wait between her opening bout and bronze medal match in Aichi-Nagoya.
In the women’s under 60kg J2 event on Tuesday (Oct 20), she faced Paralympian Wang Jianan in the quarterfinals and fell by ippon close to two minutes into the fight.
She only returned to the mat in the late afternoon to take on Paralympic and Asian Para Games bronze medallist Dayana Fedossova, who also beat Hung by ippon.
“I'm pretty happy with my performance today. I played a lot better than I did previously, and I managed to hit some of my process goals.
“Despite just recovering from a flu and playing with a fresh fracture on my toe, I managed to play through the pain and refocus on the fights instead of being distracted. I am a little bit disappointed because I felt like I could have scored,” the 30-year-old said.
The former ASEAN Para Games silver medallist in goalball added that her debut at the Games has encouraged her to go further in a sport she only picked up just two years ago.
“It definitely motivates me to want to go further because as the level of play gets higher, it's more of a challenge, and I think it's pretty exciting to see how my game can change as I get better.”
“It also taught me to have more belief in my own growth. Even though the level of play is a lot higher than the ASEAN Para Games, I still managed to play my own game and hit some of my own process goals. It didn't feel super impossible even though the pulls were tough,” Hung said.
After Hung’s breakthrough silver in Korat, she has worked on getting more competition experience, competing at March’s International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Judo World Cup in Tbilisi, and has had training stints in Thailand and Indonesia.
“It was great because they had a lot of different bodies there, and that's what's really important when you're fighting because you need to learn to adapt to different people.”
She also credited the support of her sparring partner, who took leave from work to train with her before the start of the Games.
“The coaches are really helpful because I'm the first person with visual impairment that they work with, but they still try to explain and demonstrate things differently, so that's really helpful.”
Working on her mental skills with Hansen Bay has also been a crucial addition to her game.
“It is really important for me and helps me to refocus and work through distractions. It really helped me throughout this entire competition.”
With November’s IBSA Judo Grand Prix Alexandria on the cards, Hung said: “I think this experience will definitely help with that.”
“I'm really happy to be able to represent Singapore at a higher level. I didn't quite expect it. I just trained and wanted to see how far I could go, but I feel really proud to be able to represent at a high level and add our name to the pool.”
The 5th Asian Para Games are held in Japan from 18 to 24 October 2026. For the latest Team Singapore coverage and news, follow Team Singapore on their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or visit the official Team Singapore website.