Flags raised ahead of Asean Para Games

“I’m quite sure that Naypyidaw will be a great host of the Para Games. Various aspects such as in the area of sports, classification, facilities and accessibility has been looked into. I foresee that it will be a great Games”

With just one day to go until the 2014 Asean Para Games in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, athletes and teams from the 11 competing nations gathered for a flag raising ceremony at Wunna Theikdi Sports Complex today (Monday).

Ahead of the Opening Ceremony at the Wunna Theikdi Stadium on Tuesday (14 January), competitors converged in the true spirit of Asean solidarity at the Games Village to witness their flags being raised.

Asean Para Sports Federation (APSF) President Dato Zainal Abu Zarin and the Federation’s Board members attended the brief ceremony which saw the hoisting of flags of Brunei, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Timor Leste and Myanmar.

The Asean Para Games is held every two years after the South East Asian Games.

“I’m quite sure that Naypyidaw will be a great host of the Para Games. Various aspects such as in the area of sports, classification, facilities and accessibility has been looked into. I foresee that it will be a great Games,” said APSF President Datuk Zainal Abu Zarin.

Myanmar is hosting the Asean Para Games for the first time. The previous editions were held in Kuala Lumpur in 2001 and 2009, Hanoi (2003), Manila, (2005) and Nakhonratchasima, Thailand, in 2007. Solo, Indonesia, were the last hosts in 2011.

Asean sports powerhouse Thailand are seeking their sixth consecutive overall crown in in the Games, while hosts Myanmar will be looking to improve their standings to help boost the profile of para-sports in the country.

At Solo 2011, Thailand reigned supreme amassing 116 gold medals followed by Indonesia and Malaysia in second and third place respectively in the medals table.

Some 1,800 athletes are competing in the Myanmar Games from 14-20 January, featuring 12 sports: archery, athletics, boccia, and chess, football 5-a-side, football 7-a-side, goalball, powerlifting, swimming, table tennis, sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball.