PETALING JAYA: National para swimmer Nur Syaiful Zulkafli bounced back from a poor start to his Paris Paralympics campaign by qualifying for the final of the men’s 100m freestyle S5 event yesterday.
The 29-year-old clocked a time of 1:16.82 in Heat 2 of the event at the Paris La Defense Arena to finish in fourth.
Syaiful’s performance in the heats was strong enough to secure his place in the final, where only the top eight swimmers from both heats qualify.
He managed to line up in sixth position, just behind China’s Guo Jincheng and Wang Lichao, who were placed in fourth and fifth places, respectively.
The Sarawak-born athlete had faced challenges in his previous event, the men’s 200m freestyle S5.
Despite his efforts, he had a shaky start and was unable to make the final cut, placing ninth overall.
Syaiful will also compete in two other events, 100m breaststroke SB4 (Monday) and the 50m freestyle S5 (Thursday).
Malaysia’s other para swimmer, Imaan Aiman Redzuan will compete in the men’s 100m backstroke S14 event on Sept 6.
