KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — For Mohd Azwan Azhar, who represents the national blind football team, bringing glory to the country is worth more than money.
That’s why he is willing to forgo his job as a masseur in Gombak, where he earns about RM1,500 to RM1,800 a month, to train with the national team despite earning way lower in allowances.
The 29-year-old, who hails from Desaru, Johor, is determined to wrest the gold medal from Thailand when the blind football or five-a-side football event is held at the Asean Para Games (APG) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from June 3-9.
“Willing to give up my job because of my passion and perhaps a chance to go further (in life). Our target is the gold medal, but we must get past Thailand first,” said Mohd Azwan, who lost his sight at 14 after an incident during a running race.
“In blind football, we will use a ball that produces a sound for us to determine its location while the players will use signals like calling out or clapping to communicate among one another,” he said when met by Bernama during a visit by national APG chef de mission Noor Syahieda Mat Shah, here, today.
Malaysia won the gold medal in the 2015 edition in Singapore but it was wrested by Thailand when they hosted the APG in 2017 and Malaysia finished third. The 2019 edition in the Philippines was cancelled and the event was not contested in the 2022 edition in Solo, Indonesia.
The event is played by five players, with four of them wearing blindfolds to ensure fair competition, while the goalkeeper, who is either sighted or partially sighted, will give instructions to his teammates.
Meanwhile, national coach Sunny Shalesh said they face an uphill task because four of their key players are down with injuries, including two who suffered serious injuries — broken leg and dislocated shoulder — during training this morning.
“Very challenging... We can deal with the weather, but difficult to deal with injuries, which is common in sports. Being blind, they play with their heart and ears, so the risk of injury is always there.
“But we will still send a good team, they’re all experienced players. The players are mostly reflexologists, some resigned from their jobs to play for the country, that is their spirit, so much so, people have nicknamed them ‘Harimau Buta’,” he said.
The team have been undergoing full-time centralised training since April 1, with the National Sports Council (NSC) providing the training venue, food and accommodation. Before that, they only trained once a week.
The team will also compete in the International Blind Sports Federation Inter-Continental Cup in India in September and the Asian Para Games in China in October.
Meanwhile, the national cerebral palsy (CP) football or 7-a-side football team coach, Asnan Md Zuki, said his team also intend to make the final in the Cambodia APG, having had to settle for bronze in the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama
