Paralympic shot putter is STRIPPED of his gold medal and world record because Ukrainian silver and bronze medalists complained ‘intellectually impaired’ Malaysian winner had turned up THREE MINUTES late for the event after not hearing announcement
- A Malaysian shot putter was stripped of his gold medal for turning up late
- Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli appeared three minutes late with two other athletes
- He was allowed to compete and set a world record but was later disqualified
- Ukraine’s Maksym Koval was handed the gold medal due to the disqualification
- An international row between Ukraine and Malaysia has emerged in recent days
- The Ukrainian Embassy for Malaysia’s Facebook page was deleted due to trolls
A Malaysian Paralympic shot putter was stripped of his gold medal and world record for turning up three minutes late to his event, sparking an international row between his country and Ukraine.
Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli won gold in the F20 class final on Tuesday but the Ukrainian athletes who finished in silver and bronze complained that the Malaysian and two others turned up for the competition too late.
The three athletes were allowed to compete under protest while their tardiness was being investigated. Ziyad broke his own Paralympic world record with a 17.93m throw but was disqualified with the two others – Ecuador’s Jordi Patricio Congo Villalba and Australia’s Todd Hodgetts.
After an appeal by Ziyad’s team was rejected, Ukraine’s Maksym Koval picked up the gold with countryman Oleksandr Yarovyi claiming the silver. Greece’s Efstratios Nikolaidis sneaked onto the podium with a bronze.
Malaysian residents raged on social media about the decision, flooding the Ukrainian Embassy for Malaysia’s Facebook page with comments over the weekend calling for the country to hand the gold over to Ziyad.
Malaysian Paralympic athlete Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli was stripped of his gold medal as he turned up for the competition three minutes late
The disqualification meant Ukraine’s Maksym Koval won gold, leading to an international row between the country and Malaysia
The Facebook page has since been deleted, forcing the Ukrainian Ambassador to Malaysia – Olexander Nechytaylo – to calm down the residents of the South East Asia country.
He tweeted on Monday: ‘Alongside with many Malaysian friends I am closely following Tokyo 2020: The Paralympics, celebrating the victory of every para-athlete and saluting their unbreakable will and determination.
‘I congratulate #ZiyadZolkefli with the remarkable performance, breaking the world record in shot put F20. He will indeed remain a true Champion in the hearts of many, not just Malaysians.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Malaysia Olexander Nechytaylo tried to appease angry Malaysians who caused the embassy’s Facebook page to be deleted due to angry comments
‘There are some fair questions to the Organizing Committee, whose slack attitude created the grounds for the controversy in the first place. These questions have to be addressed in a swift and transparent manner to preserve the Olympic spirit of the Games.’
A statement from World Para Athletics, which governs track and field for Para sports, said a referee had determined after the event that ‘there was no justifiable reason for the athletes’ failure to report’ on time.
Comments on the now-deleted embassy Facebook page called the Ukrainian athletes ‘cheaters’ and described Koval’s achievement as a ‘stolen gold medal’.
Ziyad broke his own world record but was disqualified after the event for his lateness
One Facebook user commented: ‘You seek to return Crimea to Ukraine, why don’t you start by returning gold to Malaysia back?’
International Paralympic Committee spokesman Craig Spence has condemned the ‘very abusive’ social media criticism directed at Ukraine, its athletes and its people after the controversy.
‘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 said.
Ziyad, who has an intellectual disability, said he did not hear the announcement about his event and claimed it was in a language he did not understand
‘I’m sorry. Rules are rules. The decision was taken. It wasn’t the Ukrainians fault that the Malaysian was late.’
Spence added the disqualified trio had arrived three minutes late, stating that most of the came to the event five minutes early.
The spokesman revealed an excuse given by the Malaysian and the two others was that they didn’t hear the announcement or it was in a language they did not understand. The F20 class in shot put is for athletes with intellectual disabilities.