Photo credits to SMU Engage Newsletter
Amid renewed calls from the public for Singapore para-athletes to get the same monetary rewards as able-bodied athletes when they achieve success on the world stage, SMU School of Social Sciences undergraduate and newly-minted double Paralympic champion Yip Pin Xiu has come out to say that she is not racing for money, nor harbouring hopes of receiving a bumper pay day. All she wants, she insisted, is equality shown to all athletes — able-bodied or otherwise. Speaking to TODAY after bagging her second Paralympic gold in Rio on Friday, Pin Xiu said the prize-money issue has never crossed her mind, and that she is already grateful enough for the increased support and recognition for para-athletes over the years. “As an athlete, I am not doing this for the money, so I’m not harbouring any hopes that (the prize money) will increase. My only hope is that there is equality shown to all athletes, both para-athletes and able-bodied athletes,” she said.