PETALING JAYA – Local authorities are advised to emulate the Petaling Jaya City Council in organising more tournaments involving persons with disabilities (PwD) to encourage them to represent the country on the international stage.
OKU Sentral president senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi said the Petaling Jaya City Council’s PwD Tournament 2022 held in collaboration with the Selangor Boccia Association is an effort to ensure the country always has a pool of successor athletes and ensure Malaysia is not short of talent.
“I am excited to see many younger athletes who are active in sports today and we need to have many more people with disabilities have their talents highlighted.
“I am grateful to the council for their support and hope that all municipal councils across the country will support this effort so that PwDs can have their competition and get more exposure.”
“It is very important because everybody is preparing for the big Games (2024 Paralympic Games) so we need to beef up our Paralympic athletes,” she told reporters after the prize presentation ceremony at Dewan D’Kelana, Petaling Jaya here today. Also present was Petaling Jaya City Council management deputy secretary Aznan Hassan.
A total of 30 participants from Selangor (22), Perak (four) and Penang (four) took part in the individual and trio boccia events for men and women which started on Tuesday (December 13).
Besides the tournament, it also collaborated with the Malaysian Wheelchair Fencing Association to look for new talents in the sports involving 20 local participants.
According to Ras Adiba, parents of disabled children should always encourage their children to showcase their talents and skills.
“There are still so many young people who have yet to participate in sports and what we need to do is talent scouting as most of them live in rural areas. So, parents need to provide them with the opportunity,” she said. – Bernama, December 15, 2022
