BY: Michelle Liew
National paralympic long jump champion Abdul Latif Romly has secured Malaysia’s third gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. He did not let his earlier injury deter his performance and won the long jump T20 (intellectual impairment) with a distance of 7.45m.
This is Abdul Latif’s second gold medal after the 2016 Rio edition where he recorded 7.26m.
The Perlis-born athlete could not complete his sixth and final attempt due to his leg injury which he sustained after his 5.56m fifth attempt. He had to leave the field in a wheelchair along with medical personnel for further treatment. However, the gold medal was already secured for Malaysia by then.
"Ini emas untuk anda semua" Ucapan terima kasih buat seluruh rakyat Malaysia daripada @latifromly pemenang pingat 🥇🇲🇾 Paralimpik Tokyo 2020😉#terimakasih#Paralympics2020#Gold#medalist@BuletinTV3 pic.twitter.com/EYpl1VHSdS
— Hasnida Hanim Ahmad Kamil TV3 (@hanimNewsMPB) September 4, 2021
Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah applauded Abdul Latif for his outstanding achievement at the Tokyo Paralympics. Their Majesties stated that this proved that Malaysia was capable of producing world standard athletes and individuals.
“Their Majesties are also delighted and proud of his success that has brought glory to the country on the world stage.
“Their Majesties have expressed the hope that Abdul Latif’s success will also be a source of inspiration to all Malaysians, especially athletes, to work hard and strive to achieve success in their respective fields domestically and also on the international stage,” as stated in the official Facebook post of their Majesties.
The King and Queen also wished him well for his future endeavours and prayed that he will continue to be successful in subsequent events.
Congratulations Abdul Latif!
