Cover The ‘Three Agitos’ Paralympic symbol as it is installed at the Arc de Triomphe ahead of the Paris 2024 Paralympics (Photo: Getty Images)
The ‘Three Agitos’ Paralympic symbol as it is installed at the Arc de Triomphe ahead of the Paris 2024 Paralympics (Photo: Getty Images)
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A total of 30 Malaysian athletes across eight sports are set to compete in the Paris 2024 Paralympics
Officially held for the first time in Rome in 1960, the Paralympic Games involve disabled athletes. This year’s Games will be held from August 28 to September 8 and will see 30 Malaysian athletes, a record number, competing across eight different sports.
Read more: Meet the Malaysian athletes who have qualified for the Paris Olympics 2024
Because the Paralympic Games are open to athletes with a range of disabilities, there is a functional classification system in place to ensure fairer gameplay. Some sports are reserved for specific disability types, such as goalball, which is only for visually impaired athletes. Because the Paralympics recognises three different grades of visual impairment, goalball players must wear a mask so players with less visual impairment will not have an advantage.
Para-athletics is open to athletes with a wide variety of impairments, so participants are organised into different classes based on their disability and level of impairment. Team Malaysia will see six athletes competing in para-athletics, with Jonathon Wong Kar Gee, Datuk Abdul Latif Romly, and Muhammad Nazmi Nasri for the men’s long jump, Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli for the men’s shot put, and Eddy Bernard and Muhammad Ammar Aiman Nor Azmi competing in the men’s sprint events.
See also: Championing change: The Paralympic Council’s fight for fairness and inclusivity
Abdul Latif Romly is a two-time Paralympic gold medalist who broke the T20 men’s long jump world record three times on the same day during the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
One female and two male Malaysian archers qualified for the Paralympics by their performances at the 2023 Asian Championships and 2024 World Qualification Tournament. Daneshen Govinda Rajan will represent Malaysia for the men’s individual compound, Suresh Selvathamby for the individual recurve, and Nur Jannaton Binti Abdul Jalil for the women’s individual compound.
A total of five Malaysian athletes will compete in para-badminton: Mohd Amin Burhanuddin, Cheah Liek Hou, Muhammad Fareez Anuar, Muhammad Ikhwan Ramli, and Noor Azwan Noorlan, who will all compete in variations of the men’s singles event. The latter two athletes will also compete in the men’s doubles wheelchair event.
Don’t miss: Tokyo 2020 Paralympics: All the medals our para-athletes have won
Cheah Liek Hou is not only an 11-time winner of the BWF Para-Badminton World Championships, but was the very first Paralympic badminton champion, winning gold at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo.
Three Malaysian athletes will participate in boccia, which is a precision ball sport which was initially designed for players with cerebral palsy, but now includes athletes with other severe disabilities affecting motor skills. Lee Chee Hong and Abdul Razzaq Abdul Rahman will participate in the men’s individual event and Noor Askuzaimey Mat Salim in the women’s individual event. The latter two athletes will also compete in the mixed pairs event.
Another three Malaysian athletes will participate in para powerlifting, including Bonnie Bunyau Gustin, who won Malaysia’s first-ever gold medal in the sport during the men’s 72kg event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, simultaneously breaking the Paralympic record.
Read more: Asia’s Paralympic athletes exemplify the unyielding power of the human spirit
Jong Yee Khie, who will participate in the men’s 107kg event, is also a medalist, winning silver in the same event during the 2020 Paralympics. The third athlete is Nicodemus Manggoi Moses, who will be participating in the 97kg event.
Six para cyclists will represent Malaysia: Mohamad Yusof Hafizi Shaharuddin, Muhammad Adi Raimie Amizazahan, Nur Azlia Syafinaz Mohd Zais, and Nur Suraiya Muhamad Zamri will be participating in road and track, and Nurul Suhada Zainal and Farina Shawati Mohd Adnan in pilot.
Muhammad Nur Syaiful Zulkafli and Imaan Aiman Redzuan will represent Malaysia in para-swimming, participating in a range of events across freestyle, breaststroke, and backstroke.
See also: 7 Paralympic sports to follow at Paris 2024, from goalball to wheelchair basketball
Team Malaysia also qualified two players for wheelchair tennis: Abu Samah Borhan and Yusshazwan Yusoff, who will participate in the men’s singles and men’s doubles events.
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