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KUALA LUMPUR: Growing up with poor vision, Wong Kar Gee spent years competing against able-bodied athletes before discovering para-sports,
Now after winning an Asian Para Games gold in Nagoya, Japan on Wednesday. the 35-year-old Sabahan believes he is on course for a Paralympic medal.
Kar Gee triumphed in the men's long jump T12 after leaping 6.74 metres. He posted his winning distance on his opening attempt, before clearing 6.60m, 6.47m, 6.36m, 6.39m, and 6.40m on his remaining jumps.
Uzbekistan's Sevinchbek Khusanov finished second (6.54m) while Japan's Daiki Ishiyama was third (6.48m).
For Kar Gee, it was an improvement as he claimed silver in the same event at the 2018 Jakarta edition. He missed the last Games, in 2022 in Hangzhou due to injury.
"I'm glad to finally compete in the Asian Para Games again and win gold," he said.
Kar Gee's journey into para-sports began only in 2017. "I was studying in a normal school and competing with able-bodied athletes until 2016. It was only in 2017 that I learnt about para-sports and decided to make the move," he said.
Diagnosed with Stargardt disease at the age of eight, Kar Gee had impaired vision but said his family never treated him differently.
"I basically grew up like any normal child. My parents and family never treated me differently," he said.
However, Kar Gee's eyesight posed challenges when he pursued tertiary studies in Australia, as he struggled to read textbooks.
"I had problems reading books. I told my mother, and she asked me to return home and focus on the family business," he said.
Back in Sabah, Kar Gee trains at least once a day while running a farm that includes poultry, prawns and hydroponics.
The entrepreneur credits his family for enabling him to balance his sporting ambitions, business responsibilities and life with his wife and one-year-old daughter, Charlotte.
"I can focus on my sports, work, manage my farm, as well as my family because I'm blessed with family members who can handle things without me. It gives me the space to do all these things," he said.
For now, there is a gold medal to celebrate. Kar Gee said he would mark his Nagoya triumph with a family dinner alongside relatives and friends when he returns home.
Kar Gee finished fourth in the long jump T12 at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, missing the podium by just three centimetres with a jump of 6.85m behind Argentina's Fernando Vazquez who took bronze (6.88m).
He believes his latest success will give him the momentum to challenge for a medal at the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics.
"I believe this gold medal can bring me closer to the podium at the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics. I believe I will be able to improve my jumps for LA 2028," said Kar Gee.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd