KUALA LUMPUR: "Congratulations Ziyad, be patient Ziyad". This is the advice of national track cycling champion Datuk Mohd Azizulhasni Awang to para shot-put athlete, Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli following the latter's gold medal disqualification at the Tokyo Paralympics for technical reasons yesterday.

"I would like to congratulate my friend Ziyad Zolkefli on his excellent performance in breaking the world record at the Tokyo Paralympic Games," Azizulhasni said via his Instagram page.

Azizulhasni then shared his own painful experience.

"I hope Ziyad is patient with the test he has to face now. Of course, it is not an easy decision to accept. I really understand Ziyad's feelings because I myself had won the gold medal at the New Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, but was disqualified too," he continued.

"It's hard to swallow, but my advice as a fellow athlete is to try to accept this and move forward," he advises Ziyad.

"Of course, I also hope that the protest from Malaysia will be accepted, and Ziyad will get the gold medal. We Malaysians all know that Ziyad is the real champion and the gold medal has been clearly 'snatched away'," he added.

-- BERNAMA