PARA SUKMA: PERFECT HUNTING GROUND FOR NEW TALENT TO GAIN INTERNATIONAL EXPOSURE

From Vikneswaran Raman

KUCHING, Sept 21 (Bernama) -- The 2024 Malaysia Para Games (Para SUKMA XXI) starting here tomorrow until next Saturday (Sept 28), will serve as a hunting ground for talented new athletes with disabilities (PWD) to gain recognition for international exposure.

After sterling performances at the 2016 Rio Paralympics (three gold, one silver), Tokyo 2020 (three gold, two silvers), the national contingent's gold medal tally dropped somewhat at the Paris 2024 edition, coming home with two gold, two silver and one bronze.

It also sounded the first bell in the search for new talent to represent the country at the international level because it cannot continue to rely on senior Paralympic champions like Bonnie Bunyau Gustin (powerlifting), Cheah Liek Hou (badminton), Datuk Abdul Latif Romly and Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli (both track and field).

With more than 1,200 athletes competing for the 328 gold medals offered in 10 sports at the Para SUKMA Games this time, it will surely be the best platform before the last bell rings to find new athletes who can carry the country's torch to the bigger games such as the ASEAN Para Games, Asian Para Games and Paralympics in the future.

The Sarawak Stadium will be the main focus, since it is the designated venue for sports that offer a total of 132 gold medals, including athletics, with competition taking place from Monday to Friday (Sept 23-27).

Swimming is the second sport bedecked with the most medals with 60 gold medals, followed by powerlifting and chess with 24 gold each, tenpin bowling (20), lawn bowling (19), table-tennis (15), archery (14), badminton (12) and boccia (8).

Sarawak, as the host, are determined to reclaim the overall title with a target of 83 gold medals by fielding a contingent of 213 athletes (143 men, 70 women) this time, after finishing with 50 gold, 47 silver and 49 bronze in the 2022 edition in Kuala Lumpur.

Towards that pursuit, the contingent from the Land of Hornbills (or Bumi Kenyalang) is offering an incentive of RM15,000 to the state's para athletes who win gold, RM5,000 for silver and RM3,000 for bronze winners, which is the same value as last month's SUKMA (able bodied) medal winners.

It saw Sarawak as the host emerging as the SUKMA overall champions with 76 gold medals.

However, Sabah, the maiden overall title winner with 54 gold, 36 silver and 35 bronze in the last edition, arrive in Kuching with the target of defending the title by sending 145 athletes, besides increasing the gold winning incentive from RM5,000 to RM10,000 this time.

Sarawak previously displayed a long dominance in the games for the disabled, when the state emerged as the overall champion 13 times in a row from the 1994 edition in Johor to 2018 in Perak.

The Para Sukma Games was previously known as the National Games for the Disabled (1982-1996) and the Malaysian Paralympic Games (1998-2016).

 -- BERNAMA