PARALIMPIC BIG BOOST

Published on: Thursday, August 01, 2013 Normal and paralympic athletes to receive same incentives: Khairy  Email to a friend      Printer Friendly Putra Jaya: Newly appointed Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin brought a breath of fresh air into sports with his landmark decision to reward normal and paralympics athletes with the same incentives for winning medals at international competitions. "Incentives will be given out according to championships. Incentives will not be decided based on whether the athlete is a normal athlete or paralympic athlete. "For example incentives will be decided on whether they competed in Youth Games, Asian Games or other major events and incentives decided according to the scales determined," he said when launching the Asian Youth Para Games Malaysia 2013-AYPG 2013, here, Wednesday. Khairy said the decision was made after taking into consideration all aspects, including their commitment in training and difficulty in participation. "So the incentive for paralympic athletes will be the same with able body. I considered all the reasons. They have many categories but no heats and all that. Since we are not paralympic athletes, we don't know what they go through compared with able-bodied athletes," said Khairy. "It is hoped that the incentives will help spur all athletes, including paralympic athletes in the future. In the case of Muhammad Ziyad who won the men's F20 shot put gold medal at the IPC World Athletics Championships in Lyon, France, on July 22, it shows his commitment and sacrifices, just like normal athletes." Khairy said the ministry would reward Muhammad Ziyad accordingly but the incentives would the same as that for the achievement of normal athletes. Meanwhile, the AYPG 2013 which will be held from Oct 26 to 30 at the National Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil, would feature 2,000 of the best young paralympic athletes from 42 countries. The championships will feature 14 types of sports, including athletics, archery, boccia, swimming, badminton, table tennis and wheelchair basketball. It is a major development compared with only five sports contested in the 2009 edition held in Tokyo, Japan. - Bernama