Long jumper Suhairi Suhani misses out on Paralympics
Team Singapore’s athletes departed for the Paralympic Games on Aug 20 to much fanfare, though long jumper Suhairi Suhani was missing from the 10-member contingent bound for Paris – despite reports that he had made the cut.
On May 26, the Singapore Disability Sports Council (SDSC) – the national sports body for persons with disabilities – said in a Facebook post that Suhairi had met the qualifying mark for the Games.
The 26-year-old, who competes in the T20 category for athletes with intellectual impairment, leapt 6.67m at the Singapore Open in April to meet the High Performance Standard (HPS) set by World Para Athletics (WPA).
However, shot putter Diroy Noordin was chosen ahead of Suhari based on the WPA’s rules and a single slot allocation to Singapore.
When contacted, the Singapore National Paralympic Council (SNPC) declined to comment and directed queries to the WPA. The SNPC is responsible for fielding Singapore teams for the Asean Para Games, Asian Para Games, Asian Youth Para Games, Commonwealth Games and Paralympic Games.
Responding to queries from ST, the para sport’s governing body WPA said in a statement: “Achieving a HPS does not mean an athlete obtained a direct slot allocation to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
“Only the top four ranked athletes at the Paris 2023 Para athletics World Championships and the top two ranked athletes at the Kobe 2024 Para athletics World Championships will obtain a direct slot allocation for their respective National Paralympic Committee (NPC).”
When contacted, Suhairi’s coach Veeramani Chidambaram explained that the long jumper met the HPS only once at the Singapore Open and with WPA allocating only one spot to Singapore, Diroy was selected based on the rankings.
Veeramani Chidambaram added: “We knew that to get the confirmation, we were always subjected to the slot allocation, which is what we are familiar with the Paralympics.
“We were informed that he will not be selected, as it was given to Diroy based on the rankings. So I believe it was fair and just to a certain extent, because the performance criteria in athletics is straightforward.”
While Suhairi declined comment, Veeramani said that “his natural reaction of course, was a bit sad”, though the duo was prepared that the decision might go against him.
“We were also very clear, based on our understanding from the past, that slots could be very limited, we will be vying for this,” he added.
Suhairi made his debut at the Rio Paralympics in 2016, where he finished a creditable eighth, but his career was derailed after owing to injuries and a “mental block”.
He appeared to be on the mend after hitting 6.67m in April and is aiming to better his personal best of 6.85m.
Despite missing out on the Games this time, Suhairi and his coach are looking ahead to the upcoming events.
Veeramani said: “We will definitely look at the next few games for the next four-year cycle. These key competitions will still be part of our aim, and to get back to where he was before.”
Team Singapore’s contingent at the Paralympics are: Five-time Paralympic gold medallist Yip Pin Xiu, Toh Wei Soong and Sophie Soon (swimming), Diroy Noordin (athletics), Laurentia Tan, Gemma Foo and Hilary Su (equestrian), Jeralyn Tan (boccia), Nur Syahidah Alim (para-archery), and Daniel Chan (shooting).
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now