KUALA LUMPUR: The gold medal wins of two local athletes at the Rio Paralympics has placed a spotlight on Malaysia for producing high-performing disabled athletes, said Women, Family and Community Development minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim.
“Both the athletes’ success has not only made the country proud, but lifted the country’s dignity in producing outstanding disabled athletes.
“Their success has proven that physical challenges should never be a barrier to demonstrate one’s talent and succeed in any field,” said Rohani in a statement yesterday.
“Hopefully, this will be a catalyst for other (local) athletes to succeed in sports contested. And for the first time, Malaysia has created history by winning two golds at the Paralympics, and the new world record was a cherry on top,” she said.
Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi won the first gold medal in the 100m T36 (cerebral palsy) event on Sunday (Saturday in Rio de Janeiro), and the second medal was from Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli, who set a new world record in the Men’s Shot Put F20 (intellectual disability) event, also on Sunday.