PARIS: The national contingent seems determined to not give up hope of accomplishing their mission of achieving the target of four gold medals at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
With less than three days remaining before the curtain falls on Paris 2024 this Sunday, the Malaysian Contingent’s chef-de-mission for the 2024 Paralympic Games, Datuk R. Subramaniam said that the struggle of the national contingent is still not over, even though Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli missed out on the gold in the men’s F20 shot put (intellectual disability) by winning silver last Tuesday.
In fact, he is optimistic that a surprise may occur from the country’s powerlifting athlete Jong Yee Khie to bring home the gold in the men’s up to 107 kilograms category at the Porte de La Chapelle Arena on the final day of the prestigious sports event this Sunday.
“Now we are halfway there, we have missed the gold from Ziyad but that’s okay. We still have Yee Khie; maybe he can create a surprise like how he won a silver medal at Tokyo 2020,“ he told Malaysian reporters here today.
In agreement, the President of the Malaysian Paralympic Council (MPM), Datuk Seri Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin, urged the athletes who have yet to compete, to demonstrate a strong fighting spirit in order to achieve the target that has been set previously. “God willing, the third gold will come from Datuk Abdul Latif Romly. I hope the other athletes, especially Yee Khie, will try their best because what matters is we have to fight till the end,“ he said.
He also hopes that the Ministry of Youth and Sports will consider additional rewards for the national powerlifting champion Bonnie Bunyau Gustin, who broke the world record in the men’s 72kg category, thus securing Malaysia’s second gold medal at the Paris 2024.
Previously, Bonnie demonstrated that he is hard to challenge by lifting a weight of 232kg, thereby breaking his own previous record of 231kg set at the 2023 World Para Powerlifting Championship in Dubai.
The total lift is a new record for the Paralympic Games, surpassing the previous record of 228kg held by Bonnie at the Tokyo 2020 edition.
Tomorrow, Latif Romly, who is a champion para athlete of the nation, will compete to defend his gold medal in the men’s long jump T20 (intellectual disability) at the Stade de France.
The first gold medal for the Malaysian contingent was won by national para badminton champion Cheah Liek Hou, who defeated Suryo Nugroho from Indonesia, 21-13, 21-15 in the men’s singles SU5 event. (physical disability).
The national contingent also won a bronze medal through another para athlete, Eddy Bernard, in the men’s 100 meters T44 event. (physical disability).
