‘Boccia ideal for those with cerebral palsy’

KUALA LUMPUR: Parents who have children with cerebral palsy (CP) are encouraged to expose them to boccia, a sport similar to lawn bowls.

Kuala Lumpur Asean Para Games boccia team manager Tunku Maziah Tunku Mukhtar said the sport is designed specially for people with CP.

“It is a precision game and probably the only game they can excel in. There is no hoo-haa about it. It is a thinking game and how one wins is by scoring more points.

“Those with CP cannot do much. The limitations of their disability do not allow them to move on their own. As such, they are not independent like others and need someone by their side all the time.

“Some can handle the ball and some cannot. You have an assistant for every athlete in boccia. That is the difference and that is why it is the most intensive and expensive game to host because you need oneon-one care,” said Tunku Maziah.

The Malaysian boccia team for the Asean Para Games will comprise 11 athletes, who will be assisted by one of their family members.

“The sport is not new but we are under-exposed because parents with CP children do not want to come forward and let their children try the game.

“They have their own reasons for not coming forward. I don’t blame them. It takes a lot of effort to train the children.

“But I am encouraging parents who are in denial or keeping their children under wraps to let the children have a life. Let them enjoy sports if there is nothing else to do,” said Tunku Maziah.

Tunku Maziah said the national team is in high spirits and she added that the para athletes will finish on the podium.

The team’s singles player Lim Hock Lai, 46, has been in centralised training for three months and is ready to give it a go in his debut at the Asean Para Games, which will be held from Sept 17-23.

“We train for six hours daily and we should be doing well. It may look simple to play but it is not that easy.

“The ball can be difficult to handle and it a game of strategy,” said Lim, who previously represented Malaysia in wheelchair rugby.

He won a bronze in the Incheon Asian Para Games in 2014, finishing behind Japan and South Korea.