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Fair society: Athletes with disabilities deserve equal space, coverage and respect
The Straits Times
|April 10, 2025
Recently, I attended a boccia tournament at Pasir Ris Sports Centre.
Boccia, a competitive sport in the Paralympic Games since 1984, is a game where people compete to place leather balls closest to a target.
I was amazed at the dedication, skill and sportsmanship the athletes exhibited, but also noticed that the arena was sparsely packed. When I shared this with my friends, most of them were unaware of the event or even the sport itself.
This points to a larger issue: the marginalisation of athletes with disabilities and the need to reimagine how we view both disability and sport.
All too often, society frames disability as a person's defining characteristic, reducing complex individuals to a single label.
This story is from the April 10, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.
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