Ridzuan, Latif and Wong out to make up for Ziyad’s sorrow

Never say die: Mohd Ridzuan Puzi (right) will face top runners from China and Brazil in the 100m T36 heats today.

PETALING JAYA: Let’s do this for Mohd Ziyad Zolkefli!

Paralympics sprinter Mohd Ridzuan Puzi, long jumpers Abdul Latif Romly and Wong Kar Gee are determined to make up for the huge disappointment in the team after teammate Ziyad was stripped of his shot putt F20 gold for flouting the rule.

The 34-year-old defending champion Ridzuan will get a chance to avenge his teammates’ misfortune when he gets into action in the men’s 100m T36 (cerebral palsy) heats at the Tokyo National Stadium today. Latif and Kar Gee will compete in the men’s long jump T20 and T12 respectively tomorrow.

National chief coach R. Jaganathan said Ridzuan, Latif and Kar Gee have vowed to cheer up the contingent with world-class performances.

“Ridzuan is in good spirits and wants to do well for Ziyad. He knows a good run in the heats would give him confidence in the final. I truly believe he will get into the final and do something special for Malaysia,” said Jaganathan.

“In the heats, Ridzuan will face top runners from China and Brazil, but he is prepared.

“Kar Gee and Latif will compete on Saturday, and they too are aiming to go all out for Ziyad. They are inspired by Ziyad’s courage and world record breaking effort.

“We don’t want to comment further on Ziyad’s issue but just want to give our best for him.

On Tuesday, Ziyad had turned up three minutes late to the call room, which was a violation, but he was allowed to compete.

Ziyad went on to break his own world record three times en route to winning the gold but eventually was classified as did not start (DNS) after an official protest was made by Ukraine.

In the race today, Ridzuan’s main challengers will be China’s Yang Yifei (11.79s) and Russia’s Evgenii Shvetsov (11.90s) while Brazil’s Rodrigo Parreira may be one of the darkhorses.

Ridzuan, despite being the oldest sprinter in his category and having not competed in any competition for more than a year, is expected to deliver.

“The Chinese athlete is in good form while the Brazilian can spring a surprise.

“Out of the eight sprinters in the heat, only four had taken part in competitions this year but I have told Ridzuan to just believe in himself,” added Jaganathan.