HANGZHOU — Malaysia’s triumph at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games stands as a testament to their para-athlete contingent’s prowess.
However, Malaysian chef de mission K M Rajendran emphasised the crucial need for sustained success by fortifying grassroots development programs.
Rajendran said it is imperative for the National Sports Council (NSC), National Sports Institute (NSI), and para-sports associations to reevaluate and enhance existing development programmes.
Citing the proven success stories of other nations, he stressed the correlation between intensified athlete development initiatives and commendable performances at the Games.
“I can see many countries showing improvement as they have focused on development programmes for their national athletes.
“So when we return home we need to discuss how to improve programmes.
“This is important as preparation for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games,” he said at a media conference on the contingent’s performance at the Para Asiad today.
Rajendran also said postmortems will be conducted on the potential of several athletes said to have not performed well at the APG.
“It’s undeniable that we targeted gold but failed for certain reasons,” he said, adding that he was satisfied that the contingent achieved the target of 35 medals by collecting seven gold, 15 silver and 17 bronze.
China topped the standings with 214 gold, 164 silver and 140 bronze, with Iran second (44-46-41) and Japan third (42-49-59). — October 28, 2023