SEPANG: The national paralympic squad received a warm welcome at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) upon their return from the World Para Athletics Championships in London today and assured they will keep striving for greater heights.
Ziyad Zolkefli won his second world title in the men's F20 (intellectual disability) shot put while Abdul Latif Romly successfully defended his T20 (intellectual disability) long jump gold in London. Ridzuan Puzi, meanwhile, took home the silver in the men's 100m T36 (Cerebral Palsy).
Ziyad and Latif will be making their debut in the Sea Games, a competition for able-bodied athletes, next month.
The duo said there will be little time to soak in the success they achieved in London.
"I am honoured to see all these people here to greet us and show their support for us today," said Latif.
"Although this is already my second World Championship gold, the hard work does not stop here.
"It will be back to training again for me and the goal is always to keep improving on my personal best."
Ziyad added that he is looking forward to making his Sea Games debut.
"The Sea Games will be much different than what we are used to and I will be working hard in training to make sure I am prepared."
Ziyad, Latif and Ridzuan had all won gold in their respective events at the Rio Paralympics last year.
The trio returned at KLIA alongside the national under-23 football squad which qualified for the Asian Under 23 Championship for the first time in Malaysian history. The squad earned their spot in the competition after winning Group H of the qualifiers in Bangkok yesterday.