Ziyad vows to retain shot putt gold in Games

KUALA LUMPUR: For an athlete making a comeback after six months out injured, paralympic Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli certainly displayed an amazing level of confidence.

An optimistic Ziyad, who has battled with back and right shoulder injuries, believes he is ready to defend the men’s shot putt T20 (learning disability) in the Asian Para Games from Oct 6-13 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The 28-year-old showed he’s on the recovery path by registering 16.00m to win the shot putt gold medal in the Melaka Open last month. It was not close to his personal best and world record of 17.29m, which he set en route to winning gold in the World Para Championships in London last year but it was a good start.

Ziyad, an athlete under the Podium Programme, said it was the first time that he had been out of action for six month due to injuries.

“I had the back problem first and then, I suffered the shoulder injury. I had to skip all competitions for the first seven months this year – that was the longest I’ve stayed away from training and competitions,” said the two-time world champion Ziyad.

“The long non-action period made it hard for me to regain my form. I struggled.”

The father to a 13-month-old daughter, however, didn’t give up.

“I made a first attempt at the Melaka Open last month and I did quite okay to win gold with a throw of 16 metres,” he said.

Now, he is determined to cope with the pressure of being a world champion and Paralympics gold medallist in Jakarta.

“Malaysia are banking on me to deliver. My challengers are from Japan, China and Thailand but I’ll be mentally ready to face them.

“I aim to throw a distance of 16.50m,” said Ziyad, who hurled 15.32m in his debut in the Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea, for the gold four years ago.