KUALA LUMPUR – National shot-put athlete Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli and his coach, Mohd Faizol Harun, have accepted the decision of the Internal Investigation Committee which found that the two could not prove that they arrived at the call room on time at the Tokyo Paralympics in August.
The technical mishap resulted in Ziyad being denied the gold medal in the men’s F20 shot-put event as well as the world record attempt of 17.94m.
The 31-year-old athlete said owing to the situation at the time, it is difficult to defend their claim of having arrived on time, and as such, he and his coach take full responsibility for what happened.
“Forgive us for disappointing everyone, and believe us that we did not want such a situation to occur. We will take this as a lesson for the future,” he said in a video message sent to the media today.
However, the Rio 2016 gold medallist said the incident would not dampen his spirit, and in fact, he was now more focused on preparing himself for future tournaments.
Faizol also apologised and hoped that the matter would be put to rest.
Meanwhile, Paralympic Council president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin said he hoped the investigation would clarify any public concerns over the case, adding that all parties should understand that each sporting event would have its own guidelines and rules that every athlete must follow in order to maintain standards and fairness to other fellow athletes.
“This unfortunate incident should not have happened, but this provides a valuable lesson that will be a turning point for all sports administrators, coaches and especially athletes to adhere to the strict protocols implemented for the successful management of any sporting event,” he said in a statement today.
Yesterday, the Youth and Sports Ministry informed that the Internal Investigation Committee set up to look into Ziyad’s issue at the Paralympics concluded that the athlete and his coach could not prove that they arrived at the appointed time in the call room.
The controversy that struck on the seventh day of the Paralympics saw Ziyad classified as “Did Not Start” or DNS, following protests lodged by the Ukrainian team that claimed he was late to report to the call room prior to the competition.
This led to Ukrainian athlete Maksym Koval being announced as the gold medallist with his attempt at 17.34m, which also broke Ziyad’s previous world record of 17.29m set at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in London.
In the meantime, the National Sports Council (MSN) and the National Para Athletics Association have called on World Para Athletics (WPA) to clarify the DNS rule to avoid future confusion over the issue as experienced by Ziyad.
MSN director-general Datuk Ahmad Shapawi Ismail said if an athlete fails to register on time, he or she should not be allowed to compete at all.
Apart from that, he said MSN would also submit feedback and constructive suggestions to WPA.
“Among the issues that will be raised is the need for WPA to provide a better surveillance system, including installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) equipment in the athletes call room, and recording the time when each athlete registers,” he said. – Bernama, November 6, 2021
