Even in the Paralympic Games, victory and defeat are not without controversy.
Malaysian bullet launcher Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli appeared to have been crowned Olympic champion in the F20 category. But after his victory on Tuesday, he was disqualified for being late to the competition.
Zolkefli and two other athletes – who did not get on the podium at the Olympic Stadium – were able to compete in protest after not showing up in time for the event, explained International Paralympic Committee (ICC) spokesman Craig Spence.
“They arrived late, they could have a logical reason for their delay, and so we allow them to compete and review the circumstances of the problem later,” Spence added.
World Per Athletics, the governing body of Paralympic athletics, said in a statement later that after the test, a judge determined that “There was no justifiable reason for the athletes not to report” in time. An appeal was rejected, he added.
The disqualification gave the Ukrainian medal to Maksym Koval of Ukraine, while his compatriot Oleksandr Yarovyi hung up the silver. The bronze went to the Greek Efstratios Nikolaidis.
According to Spence, the disqualification was received with anger on social media, where “very abusive” comments were made, especially towards the Ukrainians.
“I’m sorry. The rules are the rules,” Spence said. “The decision is made. It was not the fault of the Ukrainians that the Malays arrived late” – he said.
Spence explained that the noted athletes arrived three minutes late and did not consider the sanction to be harsh. “Others arrive five minutes early,” he pointed out.
The excuse given by the Malaysian and the other two athletes was that “It’s not listening to the ad or it was in a language” they didn’t understand, the spokesman stated.
The F-20 class in bullet launching is for athletes with intellectual disabilities.
The Associated Press attempted to contact the Malaysian Paralympic delegation via an email provided by the ICC, but received no response immediately.
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