FOR Lim Ming Lip (pic), coaching the national wheelchair basketball team is just as challenging as playing against able-bodied players.
But Ming Lip is not complaining. He enjoys the challenge, having first started as a volunteer in 2005.
Now, 12 years later, the 34-year-old hopes to guide the national team to their first gold medal at the Kuala Lumpur Asean Para Games.
“I was playing basketball when I was pursuing my degree in sports science at Universiti Malaya in 2005,” said Ming Lip.
“It was part of our assignment to help the wheelchair basketball team. I initially started out as a volunteer.
“It wasn’t until 2007 that I joined the coaching staff as a part-timer. In 2013, I was formally hired by the National Sports Council (NSC) under their Paralympics division.
“It’s not easy being a wheelchair basketball coach as I am not a para athlete.
“I used to sit in a wheelchair too during training to understand the players’ movements on court.
“I’m glad that I managed to embrace the challenge and develop a good bond with my players.”
Ming Lip, however, is concerned about the dwindling number of players for wheelchair basketball.
“We only have 13 players in the national programme now. Twelve of them will play in the Asean Para Games while the other player is only 19.
“It’s really hard to attract people to take up this sport because of its aggressive nature.
“We get five or six new faces yearly, but most of them leave after a few sessions.
“Luckily, I have this committed group of players. Four of them have been with the team since we started in 2005.
“After finishing with a silver for so many years, we’re hoping to finally land the gold medal this time,” said Ming Lip.
Malaysia won the bronze at the Asean Para Games in 2005 in Manila and have finished second best to Thailand four times – at Korat 2007, KL 2009, Napyidaw 2014 and Singapore 2015.
The 12 players in the team are Mohd Khairul Azman, Ahmad Nazri Hamzah, Mohd Azwan Yusoff, Chua Tze Kah, Muhd Azzwar Hassan Asaari, Muhd Roozaimi Johari, Mohd Razzuwad Mat Seman, Zulfikri Zakaria, Hafizuddin Bahrin, Freday Tan Yei Bing, Muhd Atib Zakaria and Razali Cantik.
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