Paralympic Council Of Msia Hope Hanoi Asean Para Games Will Not Be Cancelled

ALOR SETAR (Kedah, Malaysia) June 22 (Bernama) -- The Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) hope that the ASEAN Para Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, scheduled to be held from Dec 17-23, will not be cancelled like the 2020 Philippines edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic. PCM president Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin said the Games should be held so as not to affect the athletes who will be competing in several major sports events next year, which would be more challenging. “For Hanoi, there is no decision yet on whether the Games will be postponed or cancelled… but we, the PCM, have sent a letter to protest against the Games being cancelled. So, we are waiting. We do not want the Games to be cancelled. “Malaysia is ready to fully cooperate because the cancellation will affect the focus of our athletes as they prepare for next year’s major Games, among them the Hangzhou Asian Games (Sept 10-25, 2022) and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games (July 28-Aug 8, 2022),” he said. Megat D Shahriman, who is also the chairman of the Board of Trustees of Yayasan Usahawan Negara, said this after a programme to hand out free petrol coupons to 65 taxi drivers in the district here Monday. Vietnam had earlier planned to postpone the SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games for a year at the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) meeting that was held virtually last week but it was objected by eight of the 11 competing nations, including Malaysia. Following that, Vietnam was given two weeks to come up with a new proposal. Meanwhile, Megat D Shahriman is counting on the national contingent to create a few surprises at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, which will be held from Aug 24-Sept 5. “We are targeting more than the three gold medals our athletes won at the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016 and we are also hoping for more medals this time as many countries won’t be taking part,” he said. -- BERNAMA