Datuk Abdul Latif Romly’s pursuit of a hat trick of gold medals was cut short after he only managed to clinch the silver medal in the Long Jump T20 (Learning disability) category at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
Despite his best efforts, Abdul Latif fell slightly short of adding to the tally of gold medals he had won in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
The 27-year-old from Perlis secured the silver medal with a jump of 7.45m, which was his season best, but it wasn’t enough to win the gold, which was bagged by Russia’s Matvei Iakushev, who took the gold with a jump of 7.51m.
In an interview with BERNAMA, Latif mentioned that an abdominal muscle injury on his left side had affected his momentum.
According to Latif, he began to detect the injury while undergoing training here which resulted in him having difficulty breathing while making jumps throughout the action at the Stade de France.
“Losing and winning is customary in competition, anything can happen even in the last jump, I was feeling the stress but satisfied with today’s result.”
“A week before the competition I was confident, in training I had done 7.60m and above, but last Wednesday my left stomach muscle was pulled, it really hurt,” he explained.
He added that the injury somewhat affected his confidence after he realised that Lakushev was capable of giving him fierce opposition in Paris 2024 after his opponent ranked first this year.
Despite narrowly missing out on the gold medal, Latif was nevertheless graceful in defeat and dedicated his silver medal to his family members and his wife. After the event, he congratulated Iakushev for his win and thanked the crowd while draped in the Jalur Gemilang.
We’re proud of you no matter what!
Also read: “You’re a true legend” – M’sian Para Powerlifter Bonnie Bunyau Clinches Gold Medal & Breaks World Record
