Play turns into passion for swimmer with Paralympic dreams
When she was three years old, Moza Alyka Baihakki went to the swimming pool with her granddad to "play around in the water".
But that play session marked the start of her love for swimming, which blossomed into a passion driven by a competitiveness and dreams of the Paralympics.
The 12-year-old daughter of former national football player Baihakki Khaizan told The Straits Times: "I just enjoy being in the water. I dream of representing Singapore at the Paralympics and bringing home the gold medal."
Moza's dream to follow in the footsteps of five-time Paralympic gold medallist Yip Pin Xiu is now fuelled by the three gold medals she won recently at the Inter-School Para Swimming Championships.
Moza, who was born without her right arm, broke the women’s 50m breaststroke SB9 national record on top of winning both the 50m freestyle and backstroke.
“It is a really big dream of mine and it would also mean that I am representing the disabled community," she said.
“(I want to) show that disabilities can’t stop us… we’re still human, we can still do the same things. It’s just that we have a slight barrier; we just need a bit of assistance.”
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