Five athletes are expected to achieve outstanding success for the country at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, scheduled to take place from August 24th to September 5th.
Photo via insidethegames
According to BERNAMA, Deputy Youth and Sports Minister, Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal said they are double gold medallists at Rio 2016 Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli and Abdul Latif Romly from athletics, Cheah Liek Hou (badminton), S. Suresh (archery) and Bonnie Bunyau Gustin (powerlifting).
“They are in the best position to compete and I hope that their athletes can produce excellent achievements for Malaysia,” he said.
Muhammad Ziyad (F20 shot put), Abdul Latif (long jump T20), and Bonnie (powerlifting category above 72 killogrammes) are the world record holders for their respective events while Cheah is a six-time world champion and S. Suresh, the champion at the 2019 World Archery Championship in Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
Photo via TODAYOnline
Wan Ahmad Fayhsal also believed that the national paralympic contingent could repeat their three-gold target achieved at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Meanwhile, Paralympic Council of Malaysia president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin said all the athletes were able to absorb the pressure to compete in the Games even though some of them could not compete for over two years in international competitions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Megat D. Shahriman, who is also Malaysia’s chef de mission for the Games, added that he did not see the lack of competitive action at the international level as a problem because athletes from other countries also faced similar constraints at this time.
Malaysia’s 22-strong contingent will be competing in nine sports and 32 events in total.
By: Aishah Akashah Ahadiat
