Deaflympics 2025: Injury ‘Robs’ Zaiman’s Dream Of A Podium Finish In Tokyo

From Farah Najihah Zuraimi

TOKYO, Nov 19 (Bernama) – A right heel injury dashed national athlete Zaiman Megat Abu’s hopes of securing a podium finish at the 2025 Deaflympics after he concluded his campaign in fifth place in the men’s triple jump final at the Komazawa Metropolitan Stadium track today.

The 24-year-old recorded his best jump on his third attempt with a distance of 14.17 metres (m), still short of his personal best of 14.82m achieved at the Malaysia Deaf Games last month.

“Two weeks ago, my heel started hurting, but it was still bearable. Today, however, the pain became more noticeable.

“I am very dissatisfied because I know I can jump more than 15m but couldn’t show it today,” he told reporters through a sign language interpreter.

Commenting on his preparations for the men’s long jump category A qualification round this Friday, he said he aims to bounce back and target a jump beyond 7m.

“I am very disappointed for failing to deliver a medal for Malaysia in the triple jump. But I will keep moving forward and give my best in the next event,” he said.

However, his coach, Sanusi Zainal Abidin, held a different view, believing that mental pressure was the main factor affecting his athlete’s performance, saying Zaiman appeared intimidated by opponents with larger physiques.

“I think he was nervous. From the second jump, you could already see the fear. This needs to be addressed immediately — he needs more international competitions to get used to the pressure.

“During training, he regularly achieves around 14.8m. (Suddenly here, the result was different.) So I’m really sad because I failed to help him win a medal,” he said.

He added that he would ask teammates to play a role in offering mental support to Zaiman ahead of the long jump event.

“The long jump will be a major challenge as the competitors are almost the same as in the triple jump. But I still hope he can reach the final,” he said.

The triple jump event saw USA’s Jarvis Anderson Jermaine claim gold with a distance of 15.28m, while two Independent Natural Athletes, Aliaksandr Maistrenka with 14.75m and Raman Hralko with 14.71m, took silver and bronze respectively.

— BERNAMA