Ziyad is proud to maintain his performance despite taking on able-bodied athletes in his fourth SEA Games outing since the 2017 edition in Kuala Lumpur.

“Getting to compete for the fourth time at the age of 33 in the SEA Games has motivated me to make a name for myself at the 2024 Paralympics.

“I want to bring back a medal for Malaysia,” he said when met after the third day of the 2023 SEA Games athletics competitions at the Morodok Techo National Stadium today.

His third attempt of 17.30m was enough to clinch bronze.

Thailand’s Jakkapat Noisri (17.84m) took gold while Vietnam’s Thanh Binh Phan (17.39m) bagged the silver.

Another Malaysian, Jonah Chang Rigan (16.67m) came in fourth.

Commenting on his performance today, Ziyad admitted that a mistake in his technique cost him dearly, denying him the chance to improve on his achievement at the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Ziyad was denied the gold medal in the men’s F20 shot put event despite his world record-breaking attempt of 17.94m at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

The 31-year-old athlete was classified as ‘did not start’ (DNS) following a protest lodged by the Ukrainian team, who claimed he was late to report to the call room prior to the event.

The decision saw Ukrainian athlete Maksym Koval announced as the gold medallist with a throw of 17.34m, which was also declared as the new world record, beating Ziyad’s 17.29m throw at the 2017 World Paralympic Championships in London.