KUALA LUMPUR: Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi's father has branded his success in winning the nation's first ever Paralympic gold medal as the culmination of hard work put in for more than a decade.
Mohamad Puzi Mat Isa said he was proud of his son's victory and planned to celebrate his achievement when he returns home in Perlis.
Ridzuan won the 100m T36 (cerebral palsy) sprint at the Rio Paralympics yesterday in a time of 12.07 seconds.
"First of all I would like to say that we are very grateful for what Ridzuan has managed to achieve," said Puzi.
"The entire family was anxiously waiting for his event, it was not on TV but we managed to watch it on the internet.
"Obviously, we are very proud of his achievement.
"He has been involved in sports since 2004 and I believe all the hard work he has put in since the early days has paid off today (Saturday in Brazil).
"As a special child, the family has always been supportive of whatever activity he is interested in, including sports.
"We have plans to celebrate his win with a kenduri (feast) when he comes home, however, we will wait for the right time."
Ridzuan's talent was discovered in 2004 when the Perlis Youth and Sports Department conducted selections for para athletes. Ridzuan took part in the 100m trials and won.
Malaysia won a second gold medal through Ziyad Zolkefli in the men's shot put F20 (intellectual disability) event. Ziyad won the event with a new World Record of 16.84m.