Paralympic Athletes Ready To Heal Frustration Of Malaysians During Recent Olympics - MPC

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Paralympic Council (MPC) is ready to heal the frustration of Malaysians over the national contingent’s failure  to win the elusive maiden gold in the recently concluded 2024 Paris Olympics by forging another new national sports history at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

MPC president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin is optimistic that the national contingent will be able to achieve the four-gold mission which is their target for Paris 2024, a feat that would complete the total of 10 golds won by Malaysia throughout their involvement in the Paralympic Games.

"MPC and our 25 affiliated associations are very supportive and confident with the athletes coming to Paris. The athletes are very focused and at the same time I want them to go all out.

"Our accountability is to continue winning gold medals in any way. We will heal the hearts of Malaysians if we can, God willing," he told reporters at the 10-Day Countdown ceremony ahead of the 2024 Paralympic Games here today.

The national contingent is still on track to win its maiden gold medal at the Olympics after bringing home two bronzes in the badminton event through 2022 world men's doubles champions Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik and professional men's singles player Lee Zii Jia at Paris 2024.

As for the achievements at the Paralympic Games, Malaysia has so far won six golds, with three of them won at Rio 2016 and three at Tokyo 2020.

Megat D. Shahriman will also ensure that there are no controversial elements tainting the national contingent's journey in Paris by always reminding athletes to avoid untoward incidents, including disqualification during competition day.

"If the athletes are not strong enough, we will pull out from the beginning, we should not be ashamed. If you're a senior athlete who has 12 to 15 years of experience and suddenly doesn't know the rules, it's not right because we have the rules and play book,” he said.

In the meantime, he said his party was ready to face criticism, including on social media, if the national contingent fails to achieve the mission set for the Paralympic Games this time.

Although those who competed were athletes with disabilities, Megat D. Shahriman said criticism was indeed needed given their status as high-performance and world-class athletes.

"Netizens now know what is right and what is wrong, for me it's normal and I like it. You tell me negative things I like, it's alright for criticism," he said.

Malaysia will field a total of 30 athletes in eight sports during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, scheduled from Aug 28 to Sept 8.

-- BERNAMA