ENB targets disabled athletics

By ELIZABETH VUVU
EAST New Britain now has a committee in place to identify potential athletes with disability for the elites and development programmes.
This is a first of its kind and good news for people living with disabilities in the province to come out and show their talents in sports.
Known as the ENB Ability Sports Committee, it is headed by Francis Kompaon, a silver medallist in the Beijing Paralympics and a T-46 athlete.
Kompaon said yesterday the committee would be responsible for identifying potential athletes.
The committee will facilitate preparations for athletes to take part in international events.
The committee is now targeting the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as it wants to ensure there is a big contingent to represent the country.
Kompaon called on athletes with disability who took part in athletics and power-lifting during the 2012 PNG Grassroots Games to visit the Callan Special Education Centre, at Vunapope, in Kokopo town, so that they can be included in the training programme and competitions.
He said it was a first of its kind movement that focused on promoting the ability of these athletes as most major events like the PNG Games were inclusive to athletes with disability.