KUALA LUMPUR – Once again, Malaysia’s para-athletes have made the country proud by exceeding their medal target at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games.
However, a looming concern revolves around the sustainability of this success, particularly in terms of finding successors for the current crop of gold medallists.
The Malaysian contingent is coming home with seven gold medals, exceeding the tally achieved by their able-bodied counterparts, along with 15 silver and 17 bronze, totalling 39 medals – four more than the initially set target of 35.
Speaking to Scoop, sports analyst Mohd Sadek Mustaffa brought up the crucial issue regarding the para-athletes’ future.
He said it is not about their ability to win medals at the present moment, but the concerning lack of replacements for the time when the current generation retires.
Regular contributors like Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli, Abdul Latif Romly, Cheah Liek Hou continue to produce, but capable replacements do not seem to be on the horizon.
Ziyad and Liek Hou are in their 30s, and while Abdul Latif is 26, no juniors are coming up who look like they have the capability to get to his level.
“Our para-athletes are consistent but what worries me is that the current group will face challenges in the next Asian Games in Japan because there are no juniors who are competing with them at the Olympic level.
“We don’t see any new talents who can get their level being unearthed.
“That is the challenge, we don’t have to worry about the ability of our para-athletes to win medals,” he said.
While Sadek said Malaysia still has gold medallists for the Paris Paralympics, four years beyond that there will be a dearth of medal contributors.
“Who will replace Ziyad, Liek Hou, Latif when Los Angeles 2028 rolls around?
“The process for Malaysia to unearth new talent to replace the current stars is around 15-20 years.
“This is because we are too comfortable when we have star performers, some of those heading to Paris will be competing in their third or fourth games.
“The same athletes are on the wrong side of 30 but there are no capable replacements on the horizon,” added Sadek.
Even Liek Hou, now in his fourth Asian Games at 35, voiced his concerns regarding the lack of replacements in his category.
He recently emphasised the critical need for the growth of para-badminton in Malaysia.
“Currently, we only have one replacement and a backup player in my category.
“We need more players in the camp so that we can have more sparring sessions, thus building more talented players for the betterment of the sport in the future,” said the Tokyo Paralympic gold medallist. – October 29, 2023