Mum wills son to long jump gold with screams of 'Fly Latif... fly Latif!'

PADANG BESAR: "Fly Latif... fly Latif!" Those were the encouraging screams by Salmah Yatim as she willed her son Abdul Latif Romly while staying tuned to the television watching him take part in the long jump event at the Tokyo Paralympics today.

It must have worked as Abdul Latif went on to win the men's long jump T20 (intellectual impairment) category for his second Paralympic gold medal after his victory at the 2106 Rio edition.

"Thank God... I am grateful for Latif's success because he has brought glory to the country," said Salmah, 64, after Abdul Latif won the gold medal with a leap of 7.45 metes (m).

Greece's Anthanasios Prodromou (7.17m) took silver and Australia's Nicholas Hum (7.12m) the bronze.

Salmah, who is affectionately called Cek Mah, also hoped that the youngest of her seven children was not seriously hurt after sustaining an injury in the fifth jump, which forced him to forgo the sixth and final attempt.

Salmah intends to reward Abdul Latif with his favourite fried chicken dish when he returns to their home in Taman Emas in Beseri, Perlis.

She said that her youngest child began showing an interest in sports since his school days.

"Latif enjoys all types of sports. I was also interested in long jump and even represented my school, Sekolah Menengah Syed Alwi in Kangar, from Form One to Form Three," she said.

Meanwhile, Abdul Latif's father, Romly Mat, 70 said he had made a vow to shave his head bald if Latif won today.

"So, I will be shaving my head in a day or two," said a smiling Romly while waving the Jalur Gemilang.

Malaysia have now met their three-gold target after victories in powerlifting, badminton and long jump.

-- BERNAMA