The ASEAN Para Games is a biennial multi-sport event held after every Southeast Asian Games involving disabled athletes from the current 11 Southeast Asia countries. Participating athletes have a variety of disabilities ranging from spastic, cerebral palsy, mobility disabilities, visual disabilities, amputated to intellectual disabilities. The ASEAN Para Games is under the regulation of the ASEAN Para Sports Federation (APSF) with supervision by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and the Asian Paralympic Committee and is traditionally hosted by the country where the Southeast Asian Games took place.

ASEAN Para Games
ASEAN Para Games Logo
First event2001 ASEAN Para Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Occur every2 years
Next event2026 ASEAN Para Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
PurposeMulti sport event for disabled people of the nations on the Southeast Asian sub-continent
HeadquartersKuala Lumpur, Malaysia
PresidentOsoth Bhavilai
Websitewww.aseanparasportsfed.org

History

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In May 2000, delegates from the countries in Southeast Asia attending the Malaysian Paralympiad in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia had a meeting and agreed to establish a disabled sport organisation. The ASEAN Para Games was conceptualised by Zainal Abu Zarin, the founding president of the Malaysian Paralympic Council.[1][2][3] The proposed rationale was that a regional sports event will be held after the Southeast Asian Games and help[4] promoting friendship and solidarity among persons with disabilities in the ASEAN region and rehabilitating and integrating persons with disability into mainstream society.[5][6]

Ten countries, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam were the founding members. These countries agreed to hold the Games biennially on 28 April 2001 and ASEAN Para Sports Federation (APSF) was formed on 23 October 2001 with Pisal Wattanawongkiri, president of the Paralympic Committee of Thailand who proposed the games' name, being elected as its first president.

The first ASEAN Para Games was held in Kuala Lumpur from 26 to 29 October 2001 comprising more than 700 athletes and officials from Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam participating in 2 sports.

At the 2nd ASEAN Para Games in Vietnam, East Timor was admitted into the federation as a provisional member.[7]

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ASEAN Para Games unofficial symbol (2003–2005)

The logo of the ASEAN Para Games depicts the ASEAN logo positioned in the center with the symbol of the 1994–2004 Paralympic logo on top and a victory laurel surrounding the ASEAN logo. It is used on all ASEAN Para Games edition logos since 2008. Previously, an unofficial symbol resembled the red colour version of the Southeast Asian Games Federation logo depicting the 11 red rings forming a circle which was used on the logos of the 2003 ASEAN Para Games and 2005 ASEAN Para Games. Furthermore, the 1994–2004 Paralympic logo was used on the logo of the 2001 ASEAN Para Games.[8]

Participating countries

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NPC name Formal name Debuted IPC code Other codes used
  Indonesia Republic of Indonesia
2001
INA
IDN (FIFA, ISO)
  Cambodia Kingdom of Cambodia
2001
CAM
KHM (ISO)
  Brunei Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace
2001
BRU
BRN (ISO)
  Laos Lao People's Democratic Republic
2001
LAO
  Malaysia Malaysia
2001
MAS
MYS (ISO)
  Myanmar Republic of the Union of Myanmar
2001
MYA
MMR (ISO)
  Philippines Republic of the Philippines
2001
PHI
PHL (ISO, FIBA)
  Singapore Republic of Singapore
2001
SGP
SIN (1959–2016)
  Thailand Kingdom of Thailand
2001
THA
  Timor-Leste Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
2003
TLS
  Vietnam Socialist Republic of Vietnam
2001
VIE
VNM (ISO)

List of ASEAN Para Games

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Seven participating countries have hosted the ASEAN Para Games. Malaysia has hosted three Para Games (2001, 2009, 2017), more than any nation. The 5th ASEAN Para Games in 2009 were to be hosted by Laos, but it begged off from hosting the games due to financial difficulty and inexperience in providing necessary support for athletes with disabilities, therefore the games was brought back to Malaysia for the second time after eight years.

The 10th ASEAN Para Games scheduled to be hosted by the Philippines were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The edition numeral still applied despite the cancellation.[9]

The 11th ASEAN Para Games scheduled to be hosted by Vietnam was to be cancelled due to postponement for the 2021 Southeast Asian Games caused by COVID-19 pandemic. However Indonesia backed the Games and they were held in Surakarta between 30 July to 6 August.[10]

Indonesia has hosted ASEAN Para Games twice (2011 and 2022). Vietnam (2003), Philippines (2005), Thailand (2008), Myanmar (2014), Singapore (2015) and Cambodia (2023) have hosted one Para Games. Laos, Brunei and East Timor have yet to host their first ASEAN Para Games.

Host cities of ASEAN Para Games
Edition Year Host country Host city Opened by[a] Date Sports Events Nations Competitors Top-ranked team
1 2001   Malaysia Kuala Lumpur King Mizan Zainal Abidin [b] 26–29 October 2 341 10 ≈600   Malaysia (MAS)
2 2003   Vietnam Hanoi Prime Minister Phạm Gia Khiêm [c] 21–27 December 5 287 111 ≈800   Thailand (THA)
3 2005   Philippines Manila Mayor Lito Atienza [d] 14–20 December 10 394 11 ≈1000   Thailand (THA)
4 2008   Thailand Nakhon Ratchasima Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont [e] 20–26 January 14 488 11 ≈1000   Thailand (THA)
5 2009   Malaysia Kuala Lumpur2 Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi [f] 15–19 August 11 409 10 ≈1000   Thailand (THA)
6 2011   Indonesia Surakarta Vice President Boediono [g] 15–20 December 11 380 11 ≈1000   Thailand (THA)
7 2014   Myanmar Naypyidaw Vice President Sai Mauk Kham [h] 14–20 January 12 359 10 1482   Indonesia (INA)
8 2015   Singapore Singapore President Tony Tan 3–9 December 15 336 10 1181   Thailand (THA)
9 2017   Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Prime Minister Najib Razak [i] 17–23 September 16 369 11 1452   Indonesia (INA)
10 2020   Philippines Various Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
11 2022   Indonesia Surakarta3 Vice President Ma'ruf Amin [j] 30 July–6 August 14 455 11 1248   Indonesia (INA)
12 2023   Cambodia Phnom Penh Prime Minister Hun Sen [k] 3–9 June 14 439 11 1453   Indonesia (INA)
13 2026   Thailand Nakhon Ratchasima 20-26 January 2026 Future event
14 2027   Malaysia Future event
15 2029   Singapore Future event
  1. ^ Names & offices in italics reflect an opener who was not head of state when opening the Games. If the office is partially italicized, the non-italicized portion is the office & name of the head of state being represented.
  2. ^ Representing Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, King of Malaysia.
  3. ^ Representing Trần Đức Lương, President of Vietnam.
  4. ^ Representing Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of Philippines.
  5. ^ Representing Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand.
  6. ^ Representing Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, King of Malaysia.
  7. ^ Representing Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia.
  8. ^ Representing Thein Sein, President of Myanmar.
  9. ^ Representing Sultan Muhammad V, King of Malaysia.
  10. ^ Representing Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia.
  11. ^ Representing Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia.
  • ^1 East Timor was formally included in the Games, increasing its member countries to eleven.
  • ^2 Originally planned to be held in Laos.
  • ^3 Originally planned to be held in Hanoi, Vietnam.

List of sports

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Nineteen different sports have been part of the ASEAN Para Games in one point or another. Sixteen of which comprised the schedule of the recent 2017 ASEAN Para Games in Kuala Lumpur. The games saw the return of sailing as a full medal sport once again after its debut at the 2009 ASEAN Games in Kuala Lumpur.

All-time medal table

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The table below accounts for the total number of medals awarded to all participating National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) of ASEAN member countries as of the recent 2023 ASEAN Para Games.

RankNPCGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  Thailand1,2809307172,927
2  Indonesia8617105342,105
3  Malaysia7416375351,913
4  Vietnam6345925881,814
5  Myanmar210167180557
6  Philippines208248307763
7  Singapore130118123371
8  Brunei414467152
9  Cambodia235679158
10  East Timor941831
11  Laos0213354
Totals (11 entries)4,1373,5273,18110,845

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Background". Archived from the original on 29 June 2003. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Governor". Archived from the original on 1 July 2003. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  3. ^ "About". Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  4. ^ "6th ASEAN PARA GAMES, Solo". Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  5. ^ "ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR SOLO GAMES". Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  6. ^ "ASEAN Para Sports Federation". Archived from the original on 29 June 2003. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  7. ^ Chen, May (25 November 2015). "Timor Leste excluded due to IPC suspension". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 25 November 2015.
  8. ^ List of Games edition
  9. ^ "2020 ASEAN Para Games officially canceled". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  10. ^ Phu, Nghia. "Vietnam cancels hosting ASEAN Para Games - VnExpress International". VnExpress International – Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam. VnExpress. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
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