KUALA LUMPUR: The Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) and National Sports Council (NSC) have reiterated a similar stance in stating that the national contingent are targeting 35 medals, regardless of the colour, for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games in China.
PCM president Datuk Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin said the low target, despite the 68 medals garnered at the 2018 edition in Jakarta-Palembang, was made based on several factors, including the fact that of the 113 athletes bound for Huangzhou, 54 are new faces who will be making their debut.
"Compared to the Jakarta-Palembang edition, we have already lost 18 medals since some of the sports or events that we won in 2018 won't be contested in Huangzhou, such as bowling and lawn bowls, while some of our previous medal winners have also called it a day.
"In addition, we also must admit there has been a dip in the performance of some of our athletes who won medals in Indonesia,” he said.
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However, he is optimistic that the national para athletes will be able to spring a few surprises when they compete in 14 sports involving 104 events when the quadrennial Asian Para Games are held from Oct 22-28.
"PCM and NSC believe that all national athletes to the Asian Para Games this time will be determined to bring glory to the country and the medal target can be surpassed,” he said.
Earlier, the PCM received sponsorships worth RM280,000 from various sponsors for the development of the para athletes and the Hangzhou Asian Para Games.
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