Long jump gold medallist Abdul Latif disappointed at not clearing 8-metre mark

From Amiril Muttaqien Meketar

TOKYO, Sept 4 -- National long jumper Abdul Latif Romly should be jumping for joy after winning his second Paralympic gold medal here today.

Instead, he kept saying how disappointed he was at failing to break his own world record in the men’s T20 (intellectual impairment) category at the Tokyo Paralympics.

Abdul Latif, who won his first gold at the 2016 Rio edition, had set the world record of 7.64-metre at the 2018 Asian Para Games in Indonesia.

He had come to the Tokyo Paralympics aiming to jump 8 metres (m), but the best the 24-year-old could do at the Olympic Stadium here today was 7.45m in his second attempt.

“Alhamdulillah, I am grateful I won a second time in the Paralympics although I am disappointed I did not break the world record. 

“I am also disappointed that I did not complete my jump. Usually, in all the big meets and multi-sports Games, I would complete all six jumps, this is the first time this has happened,” he told reporters after the medal presentation ceremony.

An injury after the fourth attempt saw the Perlis-born athlete clear just 5.56m in his fifth jump before he was ruled out of the sixth and final try.

He then left the field in a wheelchair accompanied by medical personnel for further treatment. Thankfully, the gold was already in the bag for Malaysia by then.

Abdul Latif suspects that he must have suffered the injury when he slipped during the fourth attempt, which was chalked off, before the injury to his left leg became worse after the fifth try.  

“I aggravated the injury after take-off in the fifth attempt, it might be a groin injury… it hurts to even stand,” said Abdul Latif, who had never suffered such an injury before.

He said he would await the report from the tournament medical personnel to know the actual extent of his injury.

Meanwhile, Abdul Latif, who seemed emotional during the interview, said he wanted to dedicate his gold medal to his family as he has not seen them since the end of last year.

He also dedicated his success to his coach Shahrul Amri Suhaimi, who turned 38 on Thursday (Sept 2).

“This medal also proves that my success in Rio in 2016 was not pure luck. I won again here. I want to try and reach the peak of my career in the Paris Paralympics in 2024 and leap 8m,” said Abdul Latif, who also holds the Paralympic record of 7.60m that he had set at the Rio edition.  

In the long jump final this evening, Abdul Latif was in a class of his own to confirm Malaysia’s third gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics with his very first jump - leaping to a distance of 7.26m.

Athanasios Prodromou of Greece took silver with a leap of 7.17m while Australian Nicholas Hum settled for bronze with 7.12m.

Abdul Latif’s success means that the Malaysian contingent have met the three-gold target that was set for them, with Bonnie Bunyau Gustin and shuttler Cheah Liek Hou contributing the other two while Jong Yee Khie (powerlifting) and Chew Wei Lun (boccia) chipped in with a silver each.

-- BERNAMA