Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli was a shot-putter from Malaysia who won the gold in the F20 category of the 2020 Paralympic Games. The medal was denied to the 31-year-old for failing to show up at the competition. According to the Associated Press. Craig Spence, a spokesperson for the International Paralympic Committee said that Zolkefli was allowed to compete because two other people failed to turn up for the event on time.
“They were late, they may have had a logical reason for being late, and therefore we allowed them to compete and look at the facts of the matter afterward,” Spence stated. World Para Athletics stated that the referee had made that determination. “there was no justifiable reason for the athlete’s failure”To report on time. This decision drew strong social media reactions.
“We are now seeing comments on all our social media posts that have nothing to do with the men’s shot put F20 event,” Spence spoke.”I’m sorry. Rules are rules “The decision was taken. The Malaysian arrived late, but it wasn’t the fault of the Ukrainians.” With Zolkefli stripped of the gold medal, it led to Maksym Koval of Ukraine winning taking first, Ukraine teammate Oleksandr Yarovyi getting the silver medal and Efstratios Nikolaidis of Greece grabbing bronze.
Spence said Zolkefli and the two athletes arrived three minutes late. He said he did not see it as a harsh penalty since “Others arrive five minutes earlier than others.” The three athletes said they were late because they “I didn’t hear it or it was in another language” they didn’t understand.
There was a lot of backlash on Twitter after the decision was made. “Imagine working 4 years to prove your abilities at the greatest possible stage, performing and exceeding those expectations only to lose it all due to some dips— saying u were 3 minutes late!” One person wrote. Add another person: “Very sad that his gold medal was taken away by him for not following the rules. Sometimes, intelligence and compassion are required to make exceptions to the rules. An appeal should be allowed, and the original decision to allow him to compete should be upheld. Zulkifli is a top-shot putter in the world. The Gold medal She was in the F20 Class at Rio Paralympic Games 2016 and received a bronze medal in London at the 2012 Paralympic Games 2012.