PARIS, Sept 7 – The task of pursuing the country’s third gold medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will now hinge on defending champion Datuk Abdul Latif Romly who will compete in the T20 men’s long jump (intellectual disability) at the Stade de France, on Saturday.
Latif Romly is seen as the best prospect to capture the event’s gold and complete a hat-trick of wins since he started dominating the event at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 editions.
His reputation as a world champion with a jump of 7.64 meters (m) at the 2018 Para Asian Games in Indonesia has also made him the favourite to once again embrace the gold in this edition.
However, the question arises as to what distance can the four-time world champion from Perlis record in the event after it has been six years since he ‘incubated’ his world record.
Based on this year’s ranking, the task of the 27-year-old athlete is also seen as quite challenging considering that he is now ranked second in the world with a record of 7.30m when he won gold at the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan, last May.
Matvei Iakushev, who competed for the Neutral Paralympic Athlete ticket, could be a thorn in the flesh for Latif Romly after his closest competitor reached 7.41m at a tournament in Yekaterinburg, Russia, last June.
