Country’s pursuit for third gold medal continues as Bonnie hands over baton to Latif Romly

From Amiril Muttaqien Meketar

PARIS: The task of pursuing the country’s third gold medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will now hinge on defending champion Datuk Abdul Latif Romly who will compete in the T20 men’s long jump (intellectual disability) at the Stade de France, today.

Latif Romly is seen as the best prospect to capture the event’s gold and complete a hat-trick of wins since he started dominating the event at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 editions.

His reputation as a world champion with a jump of 7.64 meters (m) at the 2018 Para Asian Games in Indonesia has also made him the favourite to once again embrace the gold in this edition.

However, the question arises as to what distance can the four-time world champion from Perlis record in the event after it has been six years since he ‘incubated’ his world record.

Based on this year’s ranking, the task of the 27-year-old athlete is also seen as quite challenging considering that he is now ranked second in the world with a record of 7.30m when he won gold at the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan, last May.

Matvei Iakushev, who competed for the Neutral Paralympic Athlete ticket, could be a thorn in the flesh for Latif Romly after his closest competitor reached 7.41m at a tournament in Yekaterinburg, Russia, last June.

Meanwhile, national powerlifting champion Bonnie Bunyau Gustin did not face any serious problems to contribute the country’s second gold at the Porte La Chapelle Arena from the men’s 72 kilogram (kg) category, yesterday.

Not only did he defend the gold, but Bonnie, proved that he is a formidable force in the event by lifting 232kg, thereby breaking his old record of 231kg which was set at the 2023 Para World Powerlifting Championships in Dubai.

The lift was a new Paralympics record, erasing his own mark of 228kg which was set at Tokyo 2020.

In the meantime, the nervousness experienced by national swimmer Muhammad Imaan Aiman Muhammad Redzuan resulted in him not making it to the finals of the S14 men’s 100m backstroke event (intellectual disability).

The 18-year-old swimmer who was competing in heat three finished last with a time of 1 minute 04.58s thus being in the lowest position overall from the three heats at Paris La Defense Arena.

National road racing cyclist Nur Azlia Syafinaz Mohd Zais-Nurul Suhada Zainal (rider) on the other hand only managed to complete six out of seven laps in total during the women’s B (visually impaired) Road race event in Clichy-sous-bois.

Medal tally on the ninth day:

– BERNAMA