Close to 50 family members, friends and supporters of Team Singapore's Paralympians gathered at Cathay Cineplex Cineleisure last night to catch the athletes at the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony.
The Republic is represented by 10 athletes across six sports in Tokyo: archery, athletics, cycling, equestrian, powerlifting and swimming.
One supporter in attendance was Damien Ler, 42, who was keen to catch the swimmers and equestrians in action at the Games, which end on Sept 5.
He said: "It has been five years since these athletes began preparing for the Games, I can't wait to see how far they will go this time."
Grace Chan and Xanthe Lim, both 24, were also at the screening, which was organised by Reddentes Sports, the official media rights partner within Asia for the Paralympics.
Chan said: "We are here to show our support for Sophie Soon (swimmer) and also the equestrians Laurentia (Tan), Gemma (Rose Foo) and Maximillian (Tan).
"We are so proud of them and would like to wish them all the best, to have fun and enjoy the experience."
Earlier in the day, the team also received a boost from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who posted a note of encouragement on Facebook.
Noting their sacrifice and hard work "to make it to this pinnacle event for sports", he wrote: "Not only have they trained relentlessly, but they have spent their lives overcoming peoples' expectations of the differently-abled. Now, they will represent Singapore at the Paralympics.
"Some, like Nur Syahidah (Archery)... have already proven themselves on the world stage. Others, like Steve Tee (Tandem Cycling), are making their Paralympics debut. Steve is also one of my residents in Ang Mo Kio GRC!
"Whatever the results may be, I know you'll all make us all proud. Let's go, Team Singapore!"
In a Facebook post on July 13, Mr Lee shared that he had had a chat with the Olympics and Paralympics-bound Singapore athletes virtually.
He also urged the nation to rally behind Team Singapore.
