Visually-Impaired Facilitator, National Goalball Athlete
Md Hidayat
"Confidence isn't about being right all the time,
It is about not being afraid to be wrong!"
Hidayat is visually impaired. He has represented Singapore in Goalball since the game made its debut in 2015.
He is one of our visually impaired facilitator for our CYC programmes, and he also works as a guide for Dialogue in the Dark.
He started losing his sight after an accident in Secondary Two during Physical Education – a soccer ball hit his face and upon impact, both eyes started bleeding. His vision started to deteriorate and was diagnosed as cataract, and later as retina detachment. He lost all sight in both eyes about 10 years ago.
Not only were his dreams of playing professional football dashed, he constantly felt lost, overwhelmed and fearful. He was afraid to travel on his own as he was constantly afraid to get lost, and was also not confident enough to ask for help.
Goalball was introduced to him in 2015.
“Goalball is a really fast game and you often need to trust yourself and take risks. Playing the game has taught me that confidence isn’t about being right all the time, it is about NOT being afraid to be wrong! Outside of the sport, instead of feeling paiseh and afraid to try new things or to ask for help, I just do it!”
The sport has helped Hidayat regain confidence in himself. He’s now a mentor to younger players and is always happy to share how the sport offers precious life lessons that enables one to overcome life’s challenges with confidence.
