No proof shot putter arrived on time for event, says panel

 

Shot putter Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli was stripped of the gold in the Tokyo Paralympic Games after he was found to have been late in reporting to the call room. (Gambar Bernama)

KUALA LUMPUR: Shot putter Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli and his coach have not proven that they arrived at the call room of the Tokyo Olympic Stadium on time, an investigation has found.

Their late arrival resulted in Ziyad’s disqualification from the Paralympic Games held from Aug 24 to Sept 5.

The finding was made by an internal investigation committee tasked with looking into the disqualification, which deprived Malaysia of a possible gold medal.

In a Bernama report, youth and sports minister Ahmad Faizal Azumu said based on interviews and documents obtained by the committee, there was nothing that could prove that Ziyad and coach Mohd Faizol Harun were there at the expected time, although they had assumed they had arrived before the registration period at the call room.

“The youth and sports ministry will see to it that follow-up action is taken by all athletes, coaches and officials to ensure that this incident will not be repeated.

“The (record-breaking) throw made by Ziyad at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, however, is greatly appreciated,” he said in a statement today.

Faizal said although Malaysia must accept the decision by the International Paralympic Committee, the Malaysian Para Athletes Association and the National Sports Council (NSC) will still submit their views on the confusion surrounding technical matters, especially on the “did not start” (DNS) rule imposed on Ziyad.

Ziyad, 31, the 2016 Rio Paralympics champion, was allowed to proceed with his throws, including a world record 17.94m attempt, but was disqualified from the F20 (intellectual disability) event following a protest by the Ukrainian team.

The Ukrainians had claimed that he reported to the waiting room late.

Ukrainian Maksym Koval was declared the winner with his throw of 17.34m, shattering Ziyad’s previous world record of 17.29m set during the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships in London.

On Sept 3, the youth and sports ministry agreed to set up the internal investigation committee, supervised by the NSC and led by former public services department director-general Borhan Dolah to look into the incident. - FMT