Plenty of action lined up for para athletes

KUALA LUMPUR: There will be no lack of competitions for the track and field athletes preparing for the Paralympics in Tokyo next year.

They have four state meets in Federal Territory, Negri Sembilan, Selangor Opens and the Perak All Comers. Then, they also have the Malaysian Open, which should keep them busy.

National para athletics chief coach R. Jaganathan said all the IPC Grands Prix this year have been cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak but there was nothing to be concerned about. It will resume in February next year.

“Para athletes have more than enough competitions to prepare for the Paralympics next year. In all five meets, the para athletes will get to compete against the able-bodied athletes and this will push them to give their best,” said Jaganathan.

He added that 10 para athletics athletes have started training at the National Sports Council (NSC) track in Bukit Jalil from June 9.

“The athletes have resumed conditioning training since last week and it would take a few months for them to be back in top form.

“The para athletes are in high spirits since they returned to Bukit Jalil last week and they love the environment.

“It’s like being in Olympics camp in Tokyo,” said Jaganathan.

“Our para athletes can mingle and also dine with the able-bodied athletes and this is a kind of atmosphere we want in a training camp to further boost their spirit for training.

“We thank the NSC for such a good set up in the Road to Tokyo training programme,” said Jaganathan.

“We will also send the 10 athletes to compete in three to four IPC Grands Prix next year to gauge their strength and weaknesses against other athletes in the world.

“Besides the 10, we will also send a few more athletes who we believe could qualify for Tokyo,” said Jaganathan.

The trainees are men – Mohd Ridzuan Mohd Puzi 100m T36 (cerebral palsy), Ziyad Zolkefli shot putt F20 (intellectual impairment), Abdul Latif Romly (long jump F20), Jonathan Wong Gar Kee (long jump T12 visual impairment), Mohd Afiq Mohd Ali Hanapiah (100m T12), Nasharuddin Mohamed (400m T20), Mohd Aliff Mohd Awi (shot putt F20) and Zulkifli Abdullah (long jump T20) – and women are Siti Noor Iasah Ariffin (400m T20) and Siti Noor Radiah Ismail (long jump F20).