TOKYO: To become a person with disability (OKU) in the prime of one’s life is a huge setback which many are unable to accept.
For national wheelchair tennis star, Abu Samah Borhan, 36, who became disabled after a road accident 15 years ago, it was the start of another phase of his life but he refused to give up his second chance in life.
In fact, he felt blessed to be alive after the catastrophic accident when made him paralysed from the waist and had to depend on a wheelchair to move around.
“Even though my new condition did not affect others, my family was my pillar then as I was lying in my bed for the first few months. But I found the calling to start life afresh in a wheelchair after joining OKU associations,” he told Bernama.
From then, Abu Samah realised life could be just as normal after meeting other individuals in the similar predicament.
The athlete who hailed from Perak was actually active in sports in his schooldays but somehow it did not cross his mind to try wheelchair tennis as a viable sport for the disabled until his wife Norisah Bahrom cajoled him into taking up the game.
“When in school I only watched my friends playing tennis while I was in hockey and athletics, representing my school and district then.
“Nonetheless, after the accident, I started wheelchair tennis from nothing and with the help and encouragement of many parties, I began to see my game improved and before I knew I was representing the country,” he added.
He said he was happy meeting other players from all over the world and had built a network of friends with them since I participated in international championships in 2008.
On his overall performance in Tokyo, Abu Samah, who was eliminated in the second round yesterday after losing to world number eight, Tom Egberink of Netherlands said he had gained enormous experience in his second Paralympic appearance after the Rio 2016.
He said that the defeat has fired him to improve his game, especially to present a better performance if he qualifies to play in Paris 2024.
The world number 44 player put up a commendable performance when he bounced back from a first set 4-6 loss to beat Costa Rica’s Jose Pablo Gil 6-3, 6-2 in next two sets at Ariake Tennis Park in the first round.
Abu Samah improved his outing when he made it to the second round in Japan after being shown the exit in the first round in Rio 2016, Brazil by Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett with a 0-6, 1-6 defeat. – Bernama
