Dr. Tetsuo Suyama from Japan has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal of the 2016 Prince Chichibu Memorial Sports Medicine and Science Prize. This Distinguished Service Medal is awarded annually to one person working in Sport in Japan and is in recognition of a significant and long standing contribution in the field of Sports Medicine and Science. This is the first time that the Medal has been awarded to someone in the field of para-sport. He was presented with the medal at a ceremony attended by senior figures from the Japan Sports Agency, Japan Sports Association, Japan Olympic Committee and the Japan Paralympic Committee. Following the ceremony, Dr. Suyama gave a special lecture to 180 managers of the above organizations.
In further recognition for para-sport within the region, four para-athletes from Hong Kong have been recognised at the Samsung 2016 Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards. TANG Wai Lok (para-swimming) and LEUNG Yuk Wing (Boccia) were among eight winners in the overall Sports Stars category, whilst HUI Ka Chun (para-swimming) and WONG Chun Yim (para-badminton) were recognized in the Most Promising Sports Stars category.
Commenting on these awards, APC Presdient Majid Rashed said;
We congratulate both our Executive Board member Dr. Suyama and the four athletes from Hong Kong on their prestigious awards. As we seek to grow para-sport in our region, this kind of recognition is vital and demonstrates that Paralympic sport is being seen on an equal basis with Olympic sport. Our heartfelt congratulations to all the recipients.
