KUALA LUMPUR – National para athletics aces Datuk Abdul Latif Romly and Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli continued to demonstrate exceptional performances on the international stage, securing gold medals at the Dubai World Para Athletics Grand Prix yesterday.
A two-time Paralympics gold medallist, Latif emerged victorious in the men’s T20 (intellectual impairment) long jump with a leap of 7.11m, positioning himself for a potential gold medal hat-trick at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Athanasios Prodromou (6.81m) from Greece and Nikki Tang (6.74m) from Hong Kong secured the silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Meanwhile, Ziyad recorded a throw of 16.62m to dominate the men’s F20 (intellectual impairment) shot put event, defeating Muhammet Atici (15.12m) from Turkiye and Boonkong Sanepoot (12.80m) from Thailand, while another Malaysian athlete, Mohamad Aliff Mohamad Awi, finished fourth with a throw of 12.61m.
In the men’s F54/55/56 wheelchair discus throw, Muhammad Amir Abdul Raof concluded the competition in second place with a throw of 26.86m.
The United Arab Emirates secured gold and silver medals through Sultan Alhamsi (23.10m) and Abdulla Mesbahi (22.90m) respectively. – February 14, 2024