Malawi hold first National Junior Para-athletics Championships as they set sights on Tokyo 2020

The Malawi Paralympic Committee are hoping to boost the country's representation at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics ©MPC

Malawi have held their first National Junior Para-athletics Championships at the Kamuzu stadium in the city of Blantyre, with the event being hailed as a major step forward in the development of Para-sport in the nation.

Having aimed to attract 18 young athletes to the event, which took place on September 27, the Malawi Paralympic Committee (MPC) expressed their delight that 25 arrived to take part in the day.

“We even doubted whether the athletes would come, but they surprised us because they came in large numbers,” said James Chiutsi, MPC President.

“It is a positive development on our part.”

The event formed part of the MPC’s new “Winning Strategy” vision which is aimed at developing Para-athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, while the country are still hopeful of appearing at Rio 2016, having missed out on their Paralympic debut at London 2012 due to a lack of funding.

As part of the strategy the governing body held a workshop in August to prepare to host the Championships, and they additionally discussed the need to attract national and international partners who will help them deliver an increased number of Para-sport events at a grassroots level.

The MPC has already been boosted by the Agitos Foundation, the development arm of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), as their Organisational Capacity Programme (OCP) has helped boost key areas of the organisation.

Malawi appeared at the London 2012 Olympics but were denied their Paralmypic debut due to a lack of funding ©Getty Images

Several members of staff have been provided with training in athlete development and Games preparation as part of the programme, while they have also been given knowledge to improve administration and branding and boost fundraising opportunities.

Increasing the numbers of stakeholders in Para-sport has been made another key priority for the MPC, and the governing body were aided in delivering the National Junior Para-athletics Championships after receiving the support of the Ryalls Hotel and the Leasing and Finance Company.

Their assistance, coupled with the funding of the National Council of Sports, is seen as crucial to raising awareness of the Paralympic Movement in the country, with the increased number of relationships seen as enhancing the contributions made by the country’s government.