KUALA LUMPUR – Three-time world champion Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli has expressed that he will deeply feel the absence of his friend Mohamad Ridzuan Puzi, who has been excluded from the Malaysian team competing in the Paris Paralympics starting on August 28.
However, Ziyad, the shot put champion in the F20 category (intellectual disabilities), understands that this is part of an athlete’s journey.
As they move beyond their prime, it becomes increasingly difficult to perform at their best.
Ridzuan failed to qualify on merit at the World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan, in May.
The 37-year-old finished sixth in the final, clocking 12.50sec – well below his personal best of 11.87sec, which became a world record in 2018.
Meanwhile, the para-athletics squad competing in Paris at the end of this month will consist of six athletes.
Three of them are senior athletes including Ziyad, while the remaining three are newcomers: Muhammad Nazmi Nasri (long jump), Ammar Aiman Nor Azmi (400m), and Eddy Bernard (100m).
“This is the nature of sports. We must understand that when we perform well, we are praised, and when we don’t, we are sidelined. It is the norm.
“I adhere to the same principle. When we excel, we celebrate, and when we don’t, we step back.
“It is indeed disheartening to discuss this because Ridzuan is someone who has inspired others, always offering words of encouragement despite his own situation and constantly bringing positivity and energy to the national camp,” said Ziyad.
Ziyad, Ridzuan, and Datuk Abdul Latiff Romly who will compete in the F20 long jump, were trailblazers for the para contingent’s success at the Paralympics, each securing a gold medal at the Rio 2016 Games.
Currently, Ridzuan has yet to announce his status, but the Malaysian Paralympic Council (MPC) is ready to continue leveraging his expertise and experience to support the national para-athletics team, though in a different role.
The Perlis-born athlete also won the world championship in Doha in 2015 and has collected four gold medals at the Asian Paralympic Games. – August 21, 2024