Abdul Latif Romly first para-athlete to be named Best Sportsman of the Year

KUALA LUMPUR: Abdul Latif Romly created history as the first para-athlete to be named Best Sportsman of the Year (2016).

The 20-year-old Abdul Latif won the prestigious award largely to his record-breaking feats in the T20 (learning disability) men’s long jump at the Rio Paralympics in August last year.

He broke the world record three times on his way to winning the third gold medal for Malaysia in the Rio Paralympics. He holds the world record of 7.60m.

Abdul Latif beat an illustrious final field of nominees at the National Sports Awards 2016 ceremony held at a leading hotel here on Wednesday.

The nominees include Rio Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei (badminton), Rio Olympic bronze medallist Azizulhasni Awang (cycling), world champion Syarul Azman Mike Mahen (bodybuilding), Rafiq Ismail (bowling) and 2015 winner Mohd Al-Jufferi Jamari (silat).

Abdul Latif’s nomination under the Best Sportsman category was also a first for a para-athlete, although he competed against able-bodied athletes and won at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Sarawak last year.

Silat exponent Siti Rahmah Mohd Nasir was crowned as the Best Sportswoman.

The 30-year-old silat exponent had a perfect season last year when she won all four competitions she took part in, including the World Championships in Bali, Indonesia.

The Sportsman and Sportswoman award winners received RM20,000, a trophy and a certificate each.

The newly-installed Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V gave out the awards.

 

ROLL OF HONOUR

National Sports Awards 2016

Sportsman of the Year - Abdul Latif Romly (para athletics)

Sportswoman of the Year - Siti Rahmah Mohd Nasir (silat)

Best Men’s Team - Goh V Shem-Tan Wee Kiong (badminton)

Best Women’s Team - Pandelela Rinong-Cheong Jun Hoong (diving)

Best Male Paralympian - None

Best Female Paralympian - Siti Noor Radiah Ismail (para athletics)

Best Male Coach - R. Jaganathan

Best Female Coach - Chin Eei Hui

Sports Leadership Award - Tan Sri Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Ali Rustam (silat)/ N. Shanmuganrajah (gymnastics)

Sports Figure Award - Tun Jeanne Abdullah (Paralympic Council of Malaysia)/Tunku Tan Sri Imran Tuanku Ja’afar (Olympic Council of Malaysia)

Special Award - Datuk Dina Rizal (SportsUnite)/Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohd Morshidi Abdul Ghani (Sarawak State Secretary)