Ridzuan, Yu Chee named Best Asian athletes; Hagar wins ‘Best Youth’
dubai — Mohamad Ridzuan from Malaysia was adjudged the Best Male athlete while Hong Kong’s fencer Yu Chee Yui won the Best Female athlete in the second edition of the Asian Awards in Dubai where the Asian Paralympic Committee’s 5th General Assembly was taking place.
Ridzuan who competes in T36 classification sprint and long jump events, clinched three gold medals at the Indonesia 2018 Asian Para Games in 100m T36, 400m T36 and long jump T36 events breaking the world record in the 100m in the process.
Yu Chee Yui’s name was nominated in a tough category that included top Paralympic athletes like Iran’s Sareh Javanmardi (para shooting), China’s Yujiao Tan (powerlifting) and Bahrain’s first female
Paralympic gold medallist shotputter Fatema Nedham.
It was Yu Chee’s consistency over the years and her wider contribution to the Paralympic Movement, not only as an athlete but as chairperson of the IWAS Wheelchair Fencing Athlete Council and a member of the IPC Education Committee,
that impressed the judges.
“Firstly, a big thank you to the Asian Paralympic Committee for giving me this award. I would also like to thank the Hong Kong National Paralympic Committee because, without their support, I cannot play wheelchair fencing and would never get this award here. I have been to Dubai many times and every time, it’s a surprise,” Yu Chee said receiving her award from Mohamed Al Hameli, President of NPC UAE.
Hagar Safarzadeh Ghaderijani won the award for the Best Youth Athlete, having impressed the judges with her rapid progression from two world junior titles in 2017 to clinching three gold medals at the 2018 Asian Para Games.
The Chinese Women’s Basketball team won the Best Team category for their not just for the gold medal that they won at the Asian Para Games in October 2018 but also for their performance at the 2018 World Championships where they narrowly missed out on the bronze medal but did secure an additional slot for the Asia-Pacific region at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
The Exemplary Official Award was given to Yukio Seki from Japan for his contribution to World Para Athletics development in the region. He thanked the APC for recognising the work that Technical Officials do.