By Corina Tan
The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games is currently underway after a thrilling opening ceremony that took place on Tuesday. Held from August 24 – September 5, 2021, the event was initially postponed due to Covid-19, but has since commenced successfully and its ongoing events are followed by many triumphs for fellow Paralympians all over the world. Almost 5000 Paralympians with different disabilities from 163 countries are currently competing in 22 sports. This time, two additional sports were added to the programme; badminton and taekwondo.
Flag bearers Siti Noor Iasah Mohamad Ariffin and Bonnie Nunyau Gustin of Team Malaysia lead our delegation during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
Malaysia has sent a contingent of 22 Paralympians taking part in 9 sports. On Saturday, August 28, 2021, Malaysia gained its first ever a gold medal in Power Lifting, won by Bonnie Bunyau Gustin in the 72kgs category. Breaking the Paralympic record by 1kgs, Bonnie lifted 228kgs with no one close to matching his effort, making this a proud moment in Malaysian history.
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Following this record-breaking achievement is Paralympian Yee Khie Jong in the 107kgs category who won a silver medal in Power Lifting on Monday, August 30, 2021. The Sarawakian’s best lift of 237kgs was his second attempt and marked a major improvement from his debut five years ago where he managed the seventh spot.
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We are happy and proud of these achievements and we hope more will follow. These next few perilous days will prove a challenge as our athletes continue to strive to achieve Malaysia’s 3 gold medal target following our performance in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
As it stands, China leads with the most medals thus far at 135, followed by Great Britain 82, and RPC (Russian Paralympic Committee) following closely behind at 77. The USA takes fourth place at 66 medals. While it will be difficult if not impossible to beat China’s 64 Gold medals, other countries are doing their best to compete with this outstanding achievement. We wish all our brave Paralympians around the world all the best in the coming days.
The Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games will conclude on Sunday, September 5, 2021 with the passing of the torch to the next event; the Winter Paralympic Games 2022 and the Summer Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
The Paralympic Games is a multi-sport event involving athletes with disabilities. This international periodic series immediately follows every Olympic Games since 1988 and includes athletes with a range of disabilities including paraplegia, quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, post-polio syndrome, spina bifida, impaired passive range of movement, limb deficiency (e.g., amputation or dysmelia), leg length difference, short stature, hypertonia, ataxia, athetosis, vision impairment and intellectual impairment. The Paralympic Games has grown to become one of the largest international sporting events with thousands of competitors from over 100 countries.
