KUALA LUMPUR: The Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) is optimistic of recording better performance even though Malaysia is only sending second-liner athletes to the Asean Para Games (APG) this time in Cambodia compared to the last edition in Solo, Indonesia.
Its president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin said a total of 140 athletes who will take on the challenge in Phnom Penh from June 3 to 9, are undergoing intensive preparations to achieve the mission.
He said Paralympic Games gold winners and high-performance athletes such as Bonnie Bunyau Gustin (powerlifting) will not participate in the Games for disabled athletes in Southeast Asia, besides having to drop five athletes due to injuries.
“We will send mostly back-up athletes to compete in the Solo APG and Asian Youth Games (AYPG) 2021 in Bahrain. For sure we want a better target than Solo, but the exact target is expected to be announced by Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh later, after PCM discussed with MSN (National Sports Council).
“I believe the athletes are ready, everything is in the training programme, the new athletes have also started entering the programme, so I hope the achievements will improve,” he said after the PCM iftar ceremony here last night.
At the 11th edition held in Solo in July and August last year, after being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Malaysia, represented by a small contingent of 73 athletes, performed brilliantly to bring home 36 gold, 20 silver and 14 bronze to end fourth overall at the venue.
In the KL 2017 edition, Malaysia finished in second place with 90 gold, 85 silver and 83 bronze when the size of the national contingent exceeded 300 athletes. The 2019 edition in the Philippines was cancelled.
Meanwhile, Megat expressed his disappointment over Cambodia’s latest decision to grant broadcasting rights for the SEA Games which will take place from May 5 to 17 for free.
Previously, the Cambodia SEA Games Organising Committee (CAMSOC) agreed to sell Malaysia’s broadcasting rights for the Games to PCM, which would be sold to broadcasting companies in the country.
“A sad news because we took that step to get additional funds for PCM to sustain for another three-year, but we will find other ways to secure funding.
“Apart from that, we are not sure whether APG can be viewed on television or not as of today. Previously, CAMSOC agreed for PCM to set up its own broadcasting infrastructure to broadcast four sports – swimming, athletics, badminton and powerlifting,” he said.
Megat said PCM is in contact with the organisers to get ascertain broadcasting of the 12th APG. – BERNAMA
