Honouring Rio Paralympians at the Athletes' Achievement Awards 2016

Mr Kevin Wong, Chairman of the Singapore National Paralympic Council and President of the Singapore Disability Sports Council;

Mr Fong Yong Kian, Chief Executive of Tote Board;

His Excellency Flávio Soares Damico, Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil to Singapore;

Athletes, coaches, officials;

Friends and families:

1. Good evening to all of you. I am most delighted to join you today at the Singapore National Paralympic Council (SNPC) Athletes’ Achievement Awards and Appreciation reception.

Congratulate all Paralympians for their achievements

2. Let me extend my heartiest congratulations to all of you once again. The Rio 2016 Paralympics was definitely one to remember for Team Singapore. Singapore sent our largest contingent of 13 athletes across six sports, and achieved our best ever result of two Gold and one Bronze medals, with Pin Xiu breaking two World Records during her 100m Backstroke event. I was there to cheer on Pin Xiu when she won her second Gold medal. It was indeed a very proud moment for me, for my colleagues who were there with me, and for the entire the team when we sang Majulah Singapura at the Olympics Aquatics Stadium.

3. Pin Xiu, your journey to the top exemplifies the power of sport. It goes beyond winning medals and breaking records. You showed us how you have overcome your personal challenges with hard work and determination. Homemaker Ms Hazel Ng was quoted on an online website as saying that your achievements have “taught [her] more about not giving up and not to complain about the small problems in life.” Her son, Ethan Seow, was also inspired to put more effort in his studies, and added that he will “just try harder” if he makes a mistake.

4. Pin Xiu’s good friend, Theresa, is one of Singapore’s most experienced para athletes, having garnered 29 Gold medals at various ASEAN Para Games, and represented Singapore at three earlier Paralympic Games. Although a Paralympic medal eluded her in the past, she never gave up. In Rio, Theresa won her first Paralympic medal in the SB4 100m breaststroke event. This medal is certainly well deserved for her hard work and perseverance through the years. 

5. I have paid a formal tribute at the Parliament for every single one of our Team Singapore Paralympic athletes. And I’d like to again affirm our appreciation for their hard work and determination for doing their best, and also for showing the rest of Singapore what they could do to inspire the entire nation. So I’d like to congratulate our two Rio medallists and all our Team Singapore Paralympians for being there in Rio. All of you have shown us what it means to be a champion – to overcome your personal challenges and pursue your dreams, to be counted among the world’s best, and to fly the Singapore flag high at the world’s biggest stage for para sports.

Fostering the growth of disability sports in Singapore

6. Our recent achievements in disability sports are bringing us closer to our vision of Sport without Boundaries, where every individual, regardless of ability, can lead healthy and fulfilling lives through sport. Ms Rosmah Khalid is the mother of 18-year-old Maisarah Mohd Hassan who has cerebral palsy. She shared with TODAY that since Maisarah started training in athletics with the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC), she has become healthier, fitter, and more stable. In fact, Maisarah is now able to run, even though she could hardly walk when she was younger. Ms Rosmah added, “Sports also helps her become exposed (to more people) and we want her to be independent.”

7. This is precisely what we set out to achieve when we announced the Disability Sports Master Plan earlier this year on 31 May. Through the Master Plan, we hope to encourage persons with disabilities to lead more active lives by providing better access and opportunities for them to participate in sports. 

8. In the past few months, we have set up two Centres of Expertise in our existing sports centres at Sengkang and Toa Payoh, with programmes in Swimming and Wheelchair Rugby. The Centres of Expertise provide supporting infrastructure and programmes catered for persons with disabilities. To date, these programmes have seen more than 100 participants. We hope to build on the momentum and scale this up over time. SportSG is working to start programmes in Goalball, Football and Wheelchair Tennis next year. SportSG is currently also operating an Inclusive Gym at the Enabling Village and looking to roll this out in more locations.

9. Through these efforts, we hope to raise the sports participation rate amongst persons with disabilities to encourage them to adopt active and healthy lifestyles, as well as see people with different abilities play and train together. We are at the early stage of our journey in developing disability sports and there is a lot for us to do – to build infrastructure, to build capability, to build awareness, to build ecosystems for more sports. We are not losing sight of the many more persons with special needs who can benefit from exposure to sports, even as we broaden our talent pool of future para athletes.

Supporting high performance in disability sports

10. Our comprehensive High Performance Sports system ensures that aspiring athletes of all abilities receive the support they need to excel at Major Games. This includes grants to support coaching and training expenses, sports medicine and sports science services, as well as opportunities to participate in local and international competitions for exposure and qualification.  Beyond preparing for competitions, our spexBusiness Network provides career development opportunities for our athletes along the way.

11. I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the “team behind the team”. Thank you to all the athletes’ family members, caregivers, coaches as well as officials of SDSC, SNPC and the Singapore Sports Institute (SSI).  In Rio, I saw how each of you worked selflessly to ensure that our athletes could perform at their best. Our success in Rio would not have been possible without these pillars of support who have journeyed with our athletes every step of their way. Your dedication and tireless efforts make a big difference to the athletes.

12. Finally, please join me in extending our thanks to Tote Board for sponsoring the Awards tonight, as well as the other sponsors here today for your dedicated support to SNPC and to our para athletes over the years. Your support is crucial in strengthening the disability sports ecosystem in Singapore, and I hope that more corporate partners will come on board this meaningful journey with our athletes.

Concluding remarks

13. Once again, my congratulations to all athletes on your stellar performances. Here’s wishing SNPC and all our athletes the very best for their future sporting careers as well as for next year’s ASEAN Para Games in Kuala Lumpur. I’m sure you will do us proud again!

14. Thank you.