Youth and Sports Ministry mulling taking Ziyad's case to CAS

TheEdge Thu, Sep 23, 2021 10:25pm - 2 years View Original


KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 23): The Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) is mulling the possibility of taking the issue of national shot-putter Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli's disqualification from the event at the recent Tokyo Paralympics to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if its appeal to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and World Para Athletics (WPA) falls on deaf ears.

Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said that his ministry will first seek a special hearing session with the IPC and WPA regarding the appeal submitted previously.

"The KBS will also study the views of the internal investigation committee that was set up to come up with a follow-up action plan together with the Paralympic Council of Malaysia and Malaysian Para Athletics Association regarding the incident," he said when winding up the debate on the motion of thanks for the royal address at the Dewan Rakyat sitting, here, today.

On Aug 31, Muhammad Ziyad was denied the gold medal in the men's F20 (intellectual impairment) shot-put event despite his world-record-breaking attempt of 17.94m at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

The 31-year-old athlete was classified as "Did Not Start" following protests lodged by the Ukrainian team, who claimed he was late to report to the call room prior to the event.

Following the incident, Ahmad Faizal said the KBS will improve the standard operating procedures on athlete participation in international multi-sports Games, especially those involving para athletes, so that such an incident will not recur.

Meanwhile, he said the KBS plans to develop a comprehensive and holistic sports industry policy to ensure the country's sports industry sector is developed in an organised, orderly, and competitive manner.

"Serious attention deserves to be given to the sports industry sector as it has the capability to contribute significantly to Malaysia's economy, although this industry is just two decades old. The sports industry has a huge potential for us to explore," he said.

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