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By Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 20 September 2008 2352 hrs
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SINGAPORE : Singapore aims win five gold medals at the London Paralympics 2012, after clinching one at the recent Paralympic Games in Beijing.
But Singapore's National Paralympic Council has said more support and funding are needed.
The Council is meeting officials from the Community Development, Youth and Sports Ministry (MCYS) to discuss this next week.
The six Singapore Paralympians were given a homecoming in style on Saturday.
Volunteers took them around central Singapore in Aston Martin cars, accompanied by two busloads of cheerleaders.
For some, it was a morale-boosting parade.
Swimmer Theresa Goh said: "Previously, we just went along our training sessions as per normal and we just trained hard without thinking, we did not really bother whether people were supporting us. This definitely gives us a confidence boost."
One fan commented: "They have shown us that if they believe it, they can do it and they have achieved it - it is a good feat."
Another fan said: "Something like that would help all of us to have more awareness of the disabled and their sports, and give them our support."
Medal winners Laurentia Tan and Yip Ping Xiu were also given VIP invites for the F1 Grand Prix.
But bigger plans are underway for the London Paralympics 2012.
Frankie Thanapal Sinniah, chef-de-mission, Singapore Paralympians, said: "We need more professional trainers and...money. But these paralympic medals help to 'talk' to many people. You have seen a lot of emails, newspapers, talking about where is the money going to come from. But I think it is very good that MCYS and the Singapore National Paralympic (Council) are going to sit down for a meeting next week, and decide what is needed more."
Even though the celebrations are the first of its kind for the Singapore Paralympians, organisers hope this is just the beginning of better things to come.
Meanwhile, Team Singapore's Olympians and Paralympians were the VIPs at the Istana on Saturday evening.
They were hosted to a reception by President S R Nathan, who acknowledged that nearly all the athletes achieved their best at the Games.
He sees this as the beginning of a new journey for Singapore, and hopes that future generations of Olympians will do better.
Other guests at the dinner included Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. - CNA/ms
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By Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 20 September 2008 2352 hrs
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=260 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=right width=20> </TD><TD align=right width=240>
</TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD><TD class=update> </TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD><TD><TABLE style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #cccccc" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=240 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="100%"><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff"><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=topic vAlign=top align=left>Related News </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left bgColor=#cccccc>
SINGAPORE : Singapore aims win five gold medals at the London Paralympics 2012, after clinching one at the recent Paralympic Games in Beijing.
But Singapore's National Paralympic Council has said more support and funding are needed.
The Council is meeting officials from the Community Development, Youth and Sports Ministry (MCYS) to discuss this next week.
The six Singapore Paralympians were given a homecoming in style on Saturday.
Volunteers took them around central Singapore in Aston Martin cars, accompanied by two busloads of cheerleaders.
For some, it was a morale-boosting parade.
Swimmer Theresa Goh said: "Previously, we just went along our training sessions as per normal and we just trained hard without thinking, we did not really bother whether people were supporting us. This definitely gives us a confidence boost."
One fan commented: "They have shown us that if they believe it, they can do it and they have achieved it - it is a good feat."
Another fan said: "Something like that would help all of us to have more awareness of the disabled and their sports, and give them our support."
Medal winners Laurentia Tan and Yip Ping Xiu were also given VIP invites for the F1 Grand Prix.
But bigger plans are underway for the London Paralympics 2012.
Frankie Thanapal Sinniah, chef-de-mission, Singapore Paralympians, said: "We need more professional trainers and...money. But these paralympic medals help to 'talk' to many people. You have seen a lot of emails, newspapers, talking about where is the money going to come from. But I think it is very good that MCYS and the Singapore National Paralympic (Council) are going to sit down for a meeting next week, and decide what is needed more."
Even though the celebrations are the first of its kind for the Singapore Paralympians, organisers hope this is just the beginning of better things to come.
Meanwhile, Team Singapore's Olympians and Paralympians were the VIPs at the Istana on Saturday evening.
They were hosted to a reception by President S R Nathan, who acknowledged that nearly all the athletes achieved their best at the Games.
He sees this as the beginning of a new journey for Singapore, and hopes that future generations of Olympians will do better.
Other guests at the dinner included Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. - CNA/ms
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