These Are The 22 M’sian Athletes Competing & Defending Titles In The 2021 Tokyo Paralympic Games

By Quinny Tan  •  13 Aug 2021 in News

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We’re still not over the excitement Tokyo Olympics 2020, but there’s more to come when the Tokyo Paralympic Games start in less than two weeks. Malaysia has been taking part in the Paralympic Games since 1972 and has won 11 medals – three gold, two silver and six bronze.

According to Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) president Datuk Seri Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin, who is also Chef the Mission for the Malaysian contingent, 18 of them are male athletes, and five are wheelchair athletes, competing in 9 total categories.

Mark your calendars for August 24 til September 5 and showcase your patriotism by rooting for these national athletes!

Here’s a list of all our amazing athletes who will be competing in the games so you can get to know them better…

Badminton

Starting off with a Malaysian favourite, badminton is one of the new sports to enter the Paralympics, paving the way for two athletes to bring home medals of their own.

Cheah Liek Hou has a spectacular history, having won six consecutive world titles, and is a hot favourite to bring home a gold from the SU5 event.

Fellow shuttler Didin Taresoh has impressively qualified for the SU6 event at 46 years old.

Catch their events from 1-5 September.

Athletics

The Malaysians competing comprises of a team of four male athletes and one female.

Record breaking long jumper Abdul Latif Romly will be aiming for the gold medal in his T20 Finals event.

After coming in second place in the 2019 World Para Athletics meet, Sabahan Wong Kar Gee is also going for gold in the T12 long jump event.

Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli, strong medal contender, currently holds the world record for the F20 shot put event and will be striving to defend his title in the said event.

100m sprinter Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi will be aiming to defend his gold medal from Rio in the T36 event.

Siti Noor Iasak Mohamad Ariffin, 400m track athlete, will be competing in the T2 women’s 400m event.

These events will be held from 30 August til 4 September.

Powerlifting

Being one of the Paralympic Movement’s fastest growing sports in terms of participants, this competitive sport will feature two Sarawakians.

World record breaker Bonnie Bunyau Gustin pushed limits in the 72kg category for the Para Powerlifting World Cup in Dubai last June and hopes to win a gold in Tokyo on 28 August.

29 year old Jong Yee Khie also qualified for the men’s up to 107kg category taking place on 30 August.

Swimming

Three swimmers secured their spots in the Paralympics after breaking the Malaysian Qualification Statement (MQS).

Being the youngest athlete in the Malaysian delegation, Brenda Anelia has qualified for the 50m breaststroke and 50m butterfly.

Jamery Anak Siga honours his late wife and cancels retirement to represent the country in the 50m butterfly.

Muhammad Nur Syaiful Zulkafli will be taking part in three freestyle events and one breaststroke event.

Held at Tokyo Aquatics Centre, these events will be taking place from 25-31 August.

Archery

Archery is rooted in the history of the Paralympic movement.

Kedah-born Suresh Selvathamby will be competing in the men’s individual recurve. He is also known for being the world’s first champion in para archery after winning the championships in the Netherlands in 2019.

Sarawakian Wiro Julin qualified for the Games after winning silver in his first international assignment at the 2019 Asian Para Archery Championships in Bangkok.

Their events will be held on 27 August and 3 September.

Cycling

Five Malaysian para athletes have qualified for cycling, with each participating in at least two events.

Mohamad Yusof Hafizi Shaharuddin has qualified for four events, both individual and team.

Both Muhammad Hafiz Jamali and Zuhairie Ahmad Tarmizi will join Yusof in the mixed team sprint (Track), while also qualifying for the 1km time trial.

As for the women’s events, both Nur Azila Syafinaz Mohd Zais and Nurul Suhada Zainal will take part in the individual time trial and road race.

Be sure to check them out from 26 August to 7 September!

Boccia

Chew Wei Lun has qualified for the mixed individual BC1 boccia event, after bagging bronze at the 6th Fazza Boccia 2019 Championships in Dubai in this precision ball sport.

The preliminary round will be airing on 28 August.

Table Tennis

Chee Chao Ming managed to qualify for the men’s singles TT9 event after bagging a surprise gold at the Copa Tango table tennis competition in Buenos Aires in 2019.

Catch him from 25 August to 3 September.

Wheelchair Tennis

Rounding off the list is Abu Samah Borhan, who will be taking part in the men’s singles wheelchair tennis event.

The first round will be on 27 August.

Check out the full schedule of the Games here.

All the best to our Malaysian Paralympians! #DemiMalaysia