In just four days, Singapore and the whole of ASEAN will be able to watch their para athletes compete live at the 11th ASEAN Para Games in Solo Indonesia, from 30 July to 6 August 2022.

And viewers can enjoy free coverage of the event, which has the slogan “Striving for Equality!”, on digital platform TheHomeGround Asia.

Announcing this in the spirit of celebrating the Games, the ASEAN Para Sports Federation (APSF) and host country Indonesia said it will be streaming all 14 events of the games live, including the opening and closing ceremony.

11th ASEAN Para Games

The ASEAN Para Games is a biennial multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities.

But due to the Covid 19 outbreak and the challenges of hosting the Para Games, both the 2019 ASEAN Para Games in the Philippines and 2022 ASEAN Para Games in Vietnam were cancelled.

To ensure that the region’s best athletes did not miss another opportunity to compete, Indonesia stepped forward and volunteered to host the games. Solo, known as a disability-friendly city, was chosen as the venue because its inclusive city concept.

There will be over 2,300 participants comprising almost 1,700 athletes and more than 600 officials from 11 countries in Southeast Asia.

The athletes will be competing in 14 sports — blind judo, para badminton, para table tennis, para chess, para archery, para athletics, boccia, para powerlifting, para swimming, wheelchair tennis, wheelchair basketball, goalball, CP football, and sitting volleyball. The sports will be held at fourteen venues around Solo, Karanganyar, Sukoharjo, and Semarang.

Greater visibility will result in a better understanding of disability sport

Visibility in sports is important for both the athletes and their supporters. For many years, the APSF has been exploring with various host countries on how to bring the biennial games to the region and beyond.

“The greatest challenge disability sports faced was the lack of visibility which affected the understanding of how it is organised,” says former Chairman and President of the Singapore National Paralympic Council, and the Singapore Disability Sports Council Kevin Wong.

Mr Wong had been working with the Board of Governors of the APSF during his four-year tenure to raise the visibility of para-sports in the region. “When I heard that the organisers of the 11th ASEAN Para Games were only planning to live stream five out of the 14 sports at the games, I offered TheHomeGround Asia’s digital resources to broadcast the remaining nine,” he says.

After weeks of discussions, the broadcast team came back with the news that they would now be able to broadcast all 14 sports, including the opening and closing ceremonies.

“I believe this will be an important moment in the history of para sports in the region. With greater visibility and live streaming, there would be more opportunities for marketing and broadcast revenue that help host countries offset some of the costs of organising the games and fund more grassroots development programmes,” Mr Wong says.

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Let’s get behind our Team Singapore para athletes!

The Singapore contingent to Solo will be led by Chef de Mission Low See Lien and flag-bearer Sophie Soon. A total of 37 Team Singapore para-athletes will be competing across nine sports at the games.

The following athletes will be representing Singapore in the following sports:

1. Lim Qi Mao, Archery

2. Nur Syahidah Alim, Archery

3. James Ethan Ang Kai Meng, Athletics

4. Maisarah Mohamed Hassan, Athletics

5. Muhammad Diroy Noordin, Athletics

6. Muhammad Nur Ariq Yaakub, Athletics

7. Siti Nurhayati Ali Aksar Khan, Athletics

8. Suhairi Suhani, Athletics

9. Ang Chee Hiong, Badminton

10. Aloysius Gan Kai Hong, Boccia

11. Ho Jing Rui, Gareth, Boccia

12. Tan Yee Ting, Jeralyn, Boccia

13. Neo Kah Whye, Boccia

14. Toh Sze Ning, Boccia

15. Tan Yong Zhao, Edwin, Chess

16. Aw Peiwen, Christina, Goalball

17. Inez Hung Hui Min, Goalball

18. Joan Hung Hui Xin, Goalball

19. Norliana Mohamed Ajam, Goalball

20. Nurul Natasya Idrus, Goalball

21. Lin Shuangchun, Powerlifting

22. Colin Soon Jin Guang, Swimming

23 Chan Wei Siang, Darren, Swimming

24. Fu Ai-Lin Nicole, Swimming

25. Tong Jing Xuan, Swimming

26. Liauw Thiam Hee, Jeremiah, Swimming

27. Moi Yan Ting, Danielle, Swimming

28. Sophie Soon Jin Wen, Swimming

29. Wong Zhi Wei, Swimming

30. Caleb Lee Jia Xuan, Table Tennis

31. Claire Toh Shumin, Table Tennis

32. Fong Wei Cheng, Table Tennis

33. Muhammad Dinie Asyraf Huzaini, Table Tennis

34. Mu Yuguang, Table Tennis

35. Tan Kok Leong, Table Tennis

36. Ting Chee Keong, Eric, Table Tennis

37. Christina Lau, Table Tennis

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