Abdul Latif stays hungry for more golds and world records

KUALA LUMPUR: Abdul Latif Romly (pic) is hungry for more success after breaking his world record in the Asian Para Games in Jakarta last week.

The 21-year-old from Kangar, despite just recovering from an ankle injury, cleared 7.64m in the men’s long jump F20 (learning disability) to better his previous world record of 7.60m set at the Rio Paralympics to win gold in 2016.

However, his effort was way off his personal best of 7.85m which he did en route to winning gold in the Kuala Lumpur Open Athletics Championships in Bukit Jalil in August.

Abdul Latif believes he can do much better in competitions next year.

“I was not in my best form in Jakarta as I was nursing an ankle injury but yet I broke my world record.

“If I was injury free, I could have done much better in the Asian Para Games,” said Abdul Latif, who is coached by Mohd Syahrul Amri Suhaimi.

“I have taken a break from training for a few weeks to fully recover from my right ankle injury.

“I was supposed to compete in the Malaysia Para Games (Sukma) in Ipoh in December but I’m skipping it to focus on training for next year’s competitions,” said Abdul Latif.

“My mission next year is to improve my world record and also win my third gold in next year’ s World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai from Nov 7-15.

“I’ve beaten able-bodied athletes in the KL Open in August to win gold with a personal best of 7.85m and believe I have the ability to better the mark in competitions next year.”

Abdul Latif is the most successful para athlete in athletics as he has broken his world record four times in the past two years.

He is 21 but has achieved almost everything in athletics.

He is a two-time world champion, Paralympic gold medallist and bagged his second gold in the Asian Para Games.