PETALING JAYA: Paralympics 100m gold medallist Mohd Ridzuan Puzi is not short of quality practice ahead of the Tokyo Games starting on Aug 24.
He has not had any competitions in the last two years, but simulation training with able-bodied athletes has done him a world of good.
His last competition was at the 2019 World Para championship in Dubai, where he finished fourth with a time of 11.97 seconds.
The 34-year-old had hoped to compete in the Asean Para Games, which was supposed to be held in the Philippines in October last year but it was cancelled.
National para-athletics chief coach R. Jaganathan said Ridzuan had benefited from training with some of the national sprinters at the National Sports Council (NSC), including national woman sprinter Azreen Nabila Alias.
“I have to thank them because they have kept him in a competitive shape. During training, he keeps his spirits high even when he is left behind by some of the able-bodied sprinters. He would push himself until the end,” he said.
Jaganathan said Ridzuan has been inspired by Azreen’s outing in the recent Tokyo Olympics, where she posted her personal best time.
“Ridzuan says he wants to do something like that in Tokyo, something special. Ridzuan, even though he is ageing, remains a strong athlete.”
Ridzuan will be in for a tough outing in the Paralympics as many other younger sprinters have come up over the years and will be the favourites on the track in Tokyo.
One of them will be Australia’s James Turner, who holds the world record of 11.72, which he posted in Dubai two years ago.
Ridzuan’s best time is 11.87, which was set in the Asian Para Games in Jakarta three years ago, where he won gold.
The top three sprinters based on the world rankings are the 25-year-old Turner (12.02), Argentina’s 19-year-old Alexis Chavez (12.06) and Russia’s 32-year-old Evgenii Shvetsov (12.26).
“Based on Ridzuan’s timing, he is third in the rankings, but we know that many other sprinters from Australia and China are coming up, and they are good. They are young, and I believe Ridzuan will be the oldest on the track in Japan.
“Ridzuan remains motivated despite the challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and he wants to maintain his medal.
“In Rio, he was the underdog but won a medal.
“On that day, he shone. It could happen again. We will be there to push and get him going in the races.”
Source: The Star
