After a tremendous showing at the recently concluded Rio Paralympics, our Malaysian Paralympics deserve a hero’s welcome.
And a hero’s welcome, they received.
Thousands of Malaysians gathered in front of the Petronas Twin Towers to celebrate the return of the Malaysian Paralympians, who brought home a historic three gold medals and a bronze medal.
The victory parade, organised by the Youth and Sports Ministry, saw the Paralympians standing on top of an open top bus as Malaysians showered them with chants of “Malaysia Boleh” and “Inilah Barisan Kita”.
The Malaysian contigent had reportedly touched down in KLIA a couple of hours earlier and was accorded a water salute.
According to The New Straits Times, the bus arrived at the compound at around 6.45pm, but the crowd had built up as early as 4pm.
An overjoyed Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli, who won a gold medal in the shot put event, even got down from the bus and did a ‘victory lap’ as Malaysians cheered him on.
After about 15 minutes, the entourage then made their way to the Pavilion shopping center in Bukit Bintang before heading to the Pusat Kecemerlangan Paralimpik in Kampung Pandan.
The Rio Paralympic Games was Malaysia’s most successful outing ever, with Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi (100m sprint), Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli (shot put) and Abdul Latif Romly (long jump) winning the gold medal.
Siti Noor Radiah Ismail (long jump), meanwhile, brought home a bronze medal.
