It’s full throttle ahead for Malaysia’s best-in-class para-athletes as they take on the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
The main Games may have ended, but this is only the beginning for the para-athletes who will be representing Malaysia at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
Set to take place from August 24 to September 5, the Paralympic Games is a periodic series of international multi-sport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities, including impaired muscle power (paraplegia and quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, post-polio syndrome, spina bifida), impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency (amputation or dysmelia), leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment, and intellectual impairment.
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Malaysia made its Paralympic Games debut at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg, with a delegation of three athletes, all of whom competed in both track and field, and weightlifting. To date, Malaysia has bagged a total of 11 medals at the Paralympic Games so far: three gold, two silver, and six bronze.
In 2016, three Malaysian para-athletes made history when they brought home the country’s first taste of gold (times three) from the Rio Paralympic Games. The gold medallists were Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi (cerebral palsy) for the T36 100m sprint, Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli (learning disabilities) for the T20 shot put, and Abdul Latif Romly (learning disabilities) for the T20 long jump.
See also: All The Olympic Medals Malaysia Has Ever Won
This edition of the Paralympic Games will see 22 extraordinary Malaysian athletes in nine different sports going up against 167 countries–the most countries in the history of the Games. Out of the 22 Malaysian athletes, 18 are male athletes and five are wheelchair athletes. All eyes are on the medal prospects: para-athletics, archery, powerlifting, badminton, cycling, and swimming.
Get to know the Malaysian contingent who will be vying for a chance to showcase the Jalur Gemilang at their respective events:
