Rio Paralympics 2016: 8 things you should know about Ziyad Zolkefli

Today, the national anthem ‘Negaraku’ was played at Rio, Brazil for the first time after two Paralympic athletes won gold medals.

One of the athletes that created history was Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli.

He not only won gold medal in the Men's F20 Shot Put event, but he created a new World Record.

Ziyad hurled the shot a distance of 16.84 metres, erasing the previous world record of 16.29m set by Todd Hodgetts of Australia at the London Paralympics in 2012.

This success made the country proud, as this historical feat was created by this special athlete.

How much do you know Ziyad? Here are some facts you need to know about this Paralympic athlete.

1. Aged 26 years, Ziyad suffered intellectual impairment which was identified in pre-school.

2. Ziyad is the eldest of four siblings.

3. According to Paralympic.org, Ziyad ventured into this sport since 2008. It was a compulsory school activity.

4. Ziyad made his debut in the Paralympics in London in 2012, in which he won the bronze medal.

5. He won the gold medal in the men's F20 category at the World Athletics Championships in 2013.

6. Ziyad also won the gold medal at the Asian Para Games held in 2014.

7. After his victory in the 2013 World Athletics Championships, Ziyad was awarded the National Paralympic Sports award.

8. According to his father Zolkefli, before Ziyad joined the National Sports Council, he sold 'kuey tiau' in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, as reported by Free Malaysia Today.