Alvin hopes his victory will open funding floodgates

ALVIN Lim doesn’t believe in doing things halfheartedly. That’s why quit his job as a car salesman at the start of the year to enter the uncharted waters of handcycling.

His decision paid off big time when he grabbed the gold for Malaysia at the Kuala Lumpur Asean Para Games road cycling competition in Putrajaya yesterday.

The 42yearold, who was paralysed after a motorcycle accident in 2000, pedalled his way to the first gold for Malaysia in the men’s handcycling (H1H5) category in 26:47.573.

Naren Sanker of Singapore took the silver in 28:43.059 while Indonesian Damai Wayan bagged the bronze in 30:44.529.

“Although I have been aiming for the gold since taking up handcycling in January, it’s still a surprise victory for me as they mixed the categories up.

“I was motivated to win because I want to fight for funding for this sport.

“My dream is to make it to the Paralympics one day,” said Alvin, who said that he got attracted to handcycling while on holiday in Australia.

“I saw a handcycle for the first time and the shop owner encouraged me to try it out for two weeks.

“It was such a thrill to feel the wind rushing at me when I was in full flight.

“Having injured my spinal cord in 2000, this was the first time I had this feeling again. That’s why I fell in love with handcycling, but I took it up for recreation at first.

“It was by chance that I met a para cycling coach and he invited me to train with them.

“I then decided to quit my job as I wanted to put my whole heart into it and become a champion.”

Alvin then switched to doing online business.

“I want to thank everyone who supported me and believed in me. Some of them also got together to sponsor me for this Asean Para Games as a handcycle is not cheap. I spent almost RM70,000 for the Games. So I can’t thank them enough for chipping in to make this possible,” said Alvin.