SINGAPORE: Five-time Paralympic gold medallist Yip Pin Xiu will
receive S$800,000 for the two gold medals she won at the Tokyo 2020
Paralympic Games in August, said the Singapore National Paralympic
Council (SNPC) on Saturday (Oct 16)....
SNPC announced on Saturday that DBS will match the council's Athletes
Achievement Awards (AAA), the cash incentive scheme for Singaporean
athletes who win medals at major para games....
"(DBS') initial commitment will span two Paralympic Games cycles,
until the Paralympic Games 2024 in Paris," said SNPC. The funding by DBS
will also cover the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Para
Games, Asian Para Games and the Commonwealth Games.
The move comes in the wake of public discussion over the disparity in
cash awards. Joseph Schooling received S$1 million for the gold medal
he won at the 2016 Rio Games.
Yip was originally awarded S$200,000 for each gold medal won at the
Paralympic Games. She was presented with two cheques amounting to
S$800,000 at the 2021 Athletes Achievement Awards and Appreciation
Ceremony on Saturday. CNA
It is most welcome to reward the parathletes for their devotion and contribution to the sports, for their time, effort and training to win medals for the country. This is a small step towards recognising sports men and women as winning international events did not come easy. The athletes must put in a lot of time, effort, pain and financial resources to be competitive at international level.
For so long, the recognition has been only for normal athletes and parathletes. There is completely no support for Masters athletes, no mention of their existence, silence, as if they did exist. Aren't Masters athletes also athletes, also humans that can make do with some kind of govt support to keep them going? Is this some kind of discrimination against oldies, or the Masters athletes do no deserve any support from the govt?
Who are the Masters athletes? They are the Pioneers and Merdeka Generations. They built this country from scratch. Their contributions were the foundation to the success the present generation are enjoying today. Why is the govt ignoring their existence as if they are garbage that is best left in some unknown corners, not to be seen or heard? Used items need to be discarded and forgotten?
No one shall be left behind?
'DBS Singapore Group Executive and Country Head Shee Tse Koon said DBS
"readily agreed" when the council approached DBS to ask if they would
consider sponsoring the AAA.
"All of us can do our part to create a more inclusive Singapore. As a
Singapore brand, we also believe in supporting and nurturing homegrown
talent," said Mr Shee.'
Is it ok to exclude the Masters, the senior citizens in all inclusive Singapore?