Daniel Perez was the first to get his hands on a gold medal when he captured the men’s BC1 title before fellow Dutch boccia player Chantal van Engelen was crowned women’s BC2 champion at Schouwburgplein in Rotterdam.

There was also Dutch delight in wheelchair tennis as Sam Schroder and Niels Vink claimed the men’s quad doubles crown.

Britain’s David Smith would have been hoping to add another European title to his glittering collection that includes three Paralympic golds,

But it was Perez’s day as he delighted the home fans on court one, securing a memorable 5-2 triumph to deliver the host nation’s first gold.

"Finally," said Perez, a Rio 2016 silver medallist.

"I have finished second quite a lot of times, especially in finals against David, so I am happy that I finally took gold at such a beautiful place."

It was the first time a major international boccia event was staged outdoors, with the earlier rounds taking place at the Rotterdam Ahoy.

With fans flocking to the city-centre venue at Schouwburgplein, The Netherlands enjoyed more success when van Engelen defeated Portugal’s Anna Correia 8-1 in the women’s BC2 final.

"It was very special to compete outdoors, it was the first time to do so," said van Engelen.

"It was different compared to indoors, because it gives a bit more air.

"It can feel very stuffy when we play indoor.

"This medal is very special and important to me."

There were eight boccia finals today, with Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Israel, France, Greece and The Netherlands all tasting success.

Amagoia Arietta of Spain overcame Kinga Koza 5-3 to win women’s BC1 gold, while Israel’s Nadav Levi defeated Slovakia’s Robert Mezik 5-4 to clinch the men’s BC2 crown.

Portugal’s Carla Oliveira and Croatia’s Davor Komar won the women’s and men’s BC4 titles after defeating Hungary’s Alexandra Szabo and Czech Republic’s Radek Prochazka respectively.

The last finals of the day saw Sonia Heckel of France down Poland’s Edyta Owczarz 6-1 to claim the women’s BC3 crown and Greece’s Grigorios Polychronidis see off Britain’s William Arnott 6-2 to seal men’s BC3 gold.

The first wheelchair tennis final was also staged at Schouwburgplein, with Schroder and Vink triumphing 6-1, 6-1 against Turkey’s Ugur Altinel and Ahmet Kaplan in the men’s quad doubles final.

It was a dominant performance from the Dutch duo who converted seven of their 11 break-point opportunities.

The Turkish pair got off to a strong start, breaking in the opening game only for Schroder and Vink to hit back as Altinel double faulted before Kaplan netted a backhand.

The Dutch pair then found top gear, with Vink producing a couple of drop shots to give them a 4-1 lead.

Altinel and Kaplan were being outthought and outmanoeuvred as Vink and Schroder dominated the back of the court.

Trailing 5-1 and 30-15, Kaplan was sent crashing when he collided into an advertising board when trying to retrieve the ball.

Kaplan was helped up but was unable to stop The Netherlands securing the first set in just 22 minutes.

Schroder and Vink then broke at the start of the second set, extending a run of seven successive games.

Altinel and Kaplan refused to give in as they broke back immediately but they were struggling to hold serve as Schroder came up with another winner to make it 2-1.

Despite the Turkish pair’s best efforts, Schroder and Vink proved far too strong in all departments as they broke on two more occasions to seal victory.

A double fault from Altinel secured the win for Shroder and Vink as they claimed the men’s quad doubles title.

Ruben Spaargaren of The Netherlands advanced to the men’s singles final following a 7-5, 6-3 win over Britain’s Ben Bartram.

Spain’s Martin de la Puente dashed home hopes of all-Dutch final after defeating Maikel Scheffers 6-3, 6-4.

The Spaniard also teamed up with Francisco Garcia Vena to win men’s doubles bronze courtesy of a win by the same scoreline against Bartram and Dahnon Ward.

Scheffers and Spaargaren were due to face France’s Nicolas Charrier and Geoffrey Jasiak in the men’s doubles final, but it has been moved to tomorrow due to bad light.