KUALA LUMPUR − The Malaysian Paralympic Council (MPC) coaches will be required to sign a letter of undertaking as a proactive measure to ensure the incident that happened to national short putter Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics does not recur.
MPC president Datuk Seri Megat D. Shahriman Zaharudin said the initiative was to inculcate professionalism among the coaches and athletes so that everyone would carry out his or her responsibility more thoroughly and effectively.
He hoped that the measure, which would be put into practice at the 2021 Asian Youth Para Games (AYPG) in Manama, Bahrain next month, would help prevent a recurrence of the unfortunate event experienced by Ziyad and his coach Mohd Faizol Harun in Tokyo in August.
"This letter is a guideline or checklist that will list out the athletes and coaches’ purpose as well as role at the AYPG. I also want to ensure that the athletes who are competing, especially overseas, do not take advantage of the situation by neglecting their duties and treating it as a holiday,” he told a media conference yesterday at the launching of the 2021 AYPG and 2022 Asian Para Games.
Ziyad was denied the gold medal in the men’s F20 (intellectual disability) shot put event. His throw of a distance of 17.94m was also a new world record for the event.
He was classified as Did Not Start (DNS) following a protest lodged by Ukraine, who claimed that Ziyad was late to enter the call room.
Ukraine’s Maksym Koval was announced as the gold medallist with a throw of 17.34m, breaking Ziyad’s world record of 17.29m that he had set at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in London.
Megat said that MPC had not set any targets for the 2021 AYPG contingent as the event comprises of predominantly back-up athletes.
While admitting that it would be quite difficult to repeat their feat of five golds, two silvers and three bronzes at the 2017 edition in Dubai, Megat felt that Manama would be a great platform for the new para athletes to test their mettle and prove their abilities.
The 2021 AYPG will be held from December 2-6 while the 2022 Asian Para Games will be held in Hangzhou, China from October 9-15.
A total of 14 national para athletes will compete in the 2021 AYPG in six sports, namely athletics, swimming, table tennis, boccia, badminton and powerlifting.
Megat said that former MPC secretary-general Siti Zaharah Abdul Khalid had been appointed chef de mission for the 2021 AYPG. – Bernama, November 10, 2021
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