World champion Suresh a beacon of hope for the disabled

I did it!: S. Suresh showing off his gold medal as he arrives at the KLIA from Holland on Tuesday. — S.S KANESAN / The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Newly-crowned world champion para archer S. Suresh can be a role model for disabled people to take up sports.

National para athletics chief coach R. Jaganathan believed there are a lot of untapped talent to unearth.

“I am proud of his achievement in winning the recurve event at the World Para Archery Championships (Holland) and qualifying for 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.

“We want more disabled people to take up sports so that they know they can excel despite their handicap,” said Jaganathan.

“I also like to thank Suresh’s coach Marzuki (Zakaria) for his part in scouting for talented athletes and turning them into winners.

“The Malaysian Paralympics Council are more than willing to help. We also want parents to play their part by allowing their children to take up sports,” said Jaganathan, who have produced world-class athletes.

Jaganathan is responsible for the success of Mohd Ridzuan Puzi (100m T36, cerebral palsy, Ziyad Zolkifli (discus F20, learning disability) and Abdul Latif Romly (long jump F20).

The trio won golds at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and also at the 2017 World Para Championships in London.

Latif Romly and Ziyad also broke the world records in their respective events in Rio.

Apart from the fame, disabled athletes can also reap financial rewards as the trio picked up RM1mil each for their efforts.

Ridzuan was also the first Malaysian para athlete to win the 2018 Asian Best Para Athlete award in Dubai in February.

He created history at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta by breaking the world record and the Asian Games record in the long jump.