Ziyad Zolkefli Wins Silver For Malaysia At Paris Paralympic Games After Tokyo 2020 Mishap
"I was able to overcome the episode that had haunted me since 2020," he said after the event.
By Sadho Ram — 04 Sep 2024, 11:05 AM
Last night, 3 September, Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli won a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games in the men's F20 shot putt final
The Rio 2016 gold medalist secured his win after his third attempt yielded 17.18m at the Stade de France. He appeared relieved to have won silver, and was seen prostrating in gratitude at the end of the event.
Ukraine's Oleksandr Yarovyi, who won silver during Tokyo 2020, took the gold medal at Paris 2024, breaking the world record twice by notching 17.60m and 17.61m in his third and fourth attempts.
His compatriot, Maksym Koval, who won gold at Tokyo 2020, settled for bronze this time on 16.99m.
For context, during Tokyo 2020, Ziyad had won gold and broke the world record. However, after a technical appeal from the Ukrainian team, both Ziyad and two other competitors were disqualified.
All three of them were disqualified and classified as 'Did Not Start', with the decision sparking widespread condemnation from Malaysians, including former minister Khairy Jamaluddin who called it "shameful".
Although the Tokyo incident weighed heavily on him, Ziyad's priority was returning to the podium.
"For me, the expectations were high for the gold medal, but I don't feel very disappointed because I tried and gave my best. Most importantly, I was able to overcome the episode that had haunted me since 2020. I proved it with a silver medal, it's like a dream," Bernama quoted the 34-year-old as saying after his event.
Ziyad, penalised during Tokyo 2020 for allegedly reporting late to the call room, arrived 20 minutes early at the Stade de France in Paris to avoid the same thing happening again
"I have never thought about retiring, maybe I will compete again for the next Paralympic Games and depending on the condition of my body at that time to try and do my best," he said.
