KUCHING, Oct 23: Fifteen Sarawakians are among the 113 Malaysian para athletes who will be competing in the 4th Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China.
Minister for Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Sarawak Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah said the 10 men and five women will be competing in seven sports events, namely Wheelchair Basketball, Boccia, Lawn Bowls, Archery, Swimming, Para Table Tennis and Powerlifting.
According to Fatimah, for the Para Lawn Bowl event, the three para-athletes from Sarawak are making their debut at the Asian Para Games.
“We are targeting our para-athletes, Then Chiew Yen under the category B2 will win Bronze Medal in the Women’s Individual event, and hopefully, the other two athletes Hazel Sigang Daud (B1) and Norhasfalinda Hamdan (B2) will give their best performance,” she said in a statement today.
As for Bonnie Bunyau Gustin, Fatimah said, based on his performance in Jakarta-Palembang where he clinched the gold medal in the 65kg Powerlifting event, and in 2018 Asia Games, he will be participating in the -80kg powerlifting event in Hangzhou.
Fatimah also mentioned para-athlete swimmers Muhammad Nur Syaiful and Fraidden Dawan who contributed two medals in their respective events back in 2018 Para Asian games.
“It is hoped that our presence will give motivational boost to our Sarawakians to demonstrate their exceptional skills across all events they participate in.
“Our Sarawakian athletes are indeed very committed to their events, and we are confident that they can produce extraordinary achievements bring glory to the country and make our State proud,” she added.
The 4th Asian Para Games will take place in Hangzhou from October 22–28, at the Hangzhou Olympics Sports Centrr Stadium. A total of 22 sports and 566 events will be contested at the 4th Asian Games.
The Malaysian contingent of the Malaysian Paralympic Committee (MPM) and the National Sports Council (MSN) has set a target of 35 medals regardless of colour, for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games in China. The target for this edition is lower than in the 2018 edition in Jakarta-Palembang as host China is expected to dominate.
From the 35 medal-target by the Malaysian Contingent, Sarawakian athletes have targeted two (2) Gold, four (4) Silver and twelve (12) Bronze medals. — DayakDaily
