Para Games encourages people with disabilities to play sports

Para table tennis athletes say the 12th ASEAN Para Games is the best opportunity to promote and attract more people with disabilities to participate in the sport.

It is five days until the official opening ceremony of the ASEAN Para Games, which will be held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Many are looking forward to the event and hope that it will be an opportunity that will encourage people with disabilities to play sports more than they currently do.

There are disabled people who think that they cannot exercise because of their disability. But if they watch the competition during the upcoming para games, I think many will be encouraged to play sports, said Pov Nuch, 35, a Cambodian para table tennis player.

He said there are different sports that are specially designed for disabled people based on their physical condition. So that they (disabled) have a lot of choice to choose any sport, he said.

Athletes with disabilities in Cambodia and other countries in the region hesitate to participate in sports due to limited social and family support, but more importantly, there is discrimination within the community that prevents them from unlocking their potential.

Sports are essential for the health of disabled people, both physically and mentally. So take the chance if you’re really into it, he said.

The 35-year-old man started playing table tennis in 2017. He said he got to know the sport through friends.

When I arrived at the disability center in Phnom Penh, I saw that there are different sports, but table tennis suited me best, he said.

My family and friends were curious about how people like me exercise and do sports, so I tried to explain it to them.

This is the second time that Nuch participates in the ASEAN Para Games. He hopes to perform better than he did at the 11th ASEAN Para Games in Indonesia last year.

I think it’s always better to compete at home. Because we can have more fans. We were used to the venue and it feels exciting, he said.

The table tennis players have enough time to prepare for the competition and they were looking forward to the match day.

Nuch will compete in this year’s tournament in three different categories in men’s team, men’s doubles and men’s singles.

He won bronze in the men’s team event at the 11th ASEAN Para Games last year. It was his first medal as an athlete.

Ek Nhansamoth, 40, is the second para table tennis player to represent the Cambodian team in the tournament.

He also has the same expectations as Pov Nuch.

He said the team has been practicing since the beginning of this year. They train six days a week and ten hours a day.

We hope we can do better and try to win medals. But we have some strong teams like Thailand and Indonesia that we will face, he said.

Cambodia’s Para table tennis team was founded in 2017 and is a relatively new sport compared to other ASEAN countries.

• Tags: 12th ASEAN Para Games