Tokyo Paralympics fiasco: POPM says will not punish Muhammad Ziyad, coach

KUALA LUMPUR: No action will be taken against national para shot putter Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli and his coach Mohd Faizol Harun following the incident at the Tokyo Paralympic Games last August which saw the athlete's tardiness cost him a gold medal and a new world record in his event.

The Malaysian Para Athletics Association (POPM) in a statement today said the association has no intention of pursuing the matter further against both individuals whose actions resulted in the country failing to retain the gold medal in the F20 (intellectual disability) shot put event in Tokyo.

Instead, POPM holds in high esteem Muhammad Ziyad and his coach's sense of accountability besides also expressing their hopes to be given the opportunity to compete in other future events.

"We will always remind the team management including the coaches and athletes to always take note of the date and registration time either before a championship begins or when the championship has begun," said the statement.

Last Friday, the Youth and Sports Ministry announced that the Internal Investigation Committee formed to unravel the issue and provide closure to Muhammad Ziyad and Mohd Faizol's punctuality controversy concluded that both individuals failed to show proof that they had arrived at the call room on time on Competition day.

Rio 2016 gold medallist Muhammad Ziyad was denied his gold medal in the F20 shot put event despite a throw of 17.94 metres which was also a new world record at the Tokyo Games.

The 31-year-old was classified as 'Did Not Start (DNS) after the Ukraine team protested and claimed that Muhammad Ziyad was late coming to the call room before the event started.

The controversy that happened on the seventh day of the Tokyo Paralympic Games saw Ukraine thrower Maksym Koval declared the winner with a throw of 17.34m, erasing the world record of 17.29m set by Muhammad Ziyad at the London World Para Athletics Championship in 2017.

-- BERNAMA