Richard brings cheers for home fans with discus gold

The local heroes: (From left) Teckman Mary, Abdullah Syawal Mjarol and Richard Bada.

PETALING JAYA: Richard Bada smashed his own record en route to capturing the gold medal in the discus event at the Para Malaysia Games (Sukma).

Richard was in his element as he threw to a distance of 25.53m at the Sarawak Stadium in Petra Jaya in Kuching yesterday to become the first Sarawakian to win gold in athletics in this Sukma much to the delight of the home fans.

It was a clean sweep from Sarawak after Teckman Mary (20.57) and Abdullah Syawal Mjarol (17.55) won silver and bronze respectively.

Richard was thrilled with his victory.

How fast can you go?: The runners in the men’s 100m T45 final dashing towards the finish line. — ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE / The Star

“I feel happy and proud that I managed to set a new Games record and win the gold,” said Richard.

“I always want to give my very best for my state. This victory is special for me as it is Sarawak’s first gold in athletics.

“This is very meaningful for me and I dedicate this gold to my family, who always supported me.”

Meanwhile, Badrul Hisam Musa, who is nearsighted, used to rely solely on YouTube videos to perfect his shot putt throwing technique but it was the expert advice and tips from national Paralympian Mohd Ziyad Zolkefli that steered him to create a sensation yesterday.

Badrul of Johor, not only bagged his first Para Sukma gold in the men’s shot putt F12 (visual impairment) category, but he also broke his Games record three times.

The 31-year-old, whose previous Games record of 9.70m was set at the 2022 edition, bettered it with efforts of 11.36m in his first attempt, followed by 11.38m (third) and 11.85m (fifth).

His final effort was way ahead of silver medallist and Johor teammate Mohd Firdaus Ngatiman’s throw of 8.98m and bronze medallist Hafiz Puini (5.22m) of Sarawak.

Badrul said the words of encouragement from Ziyad during training sessions proved to be an inspiration for him, especially after the latter captured the silver medal in the men’s shot putt F20 (intellectual impairment) category at the recent Paris Paralympics.

“He advised me to work hard and to sacrifice my time and energy if I wanted to be more successful. Even during the training sessions, he would often teach me better throwing techniques,” said Badrul to Bernama.