Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli thought he had won gold and set a new world record in the F20 shot put at the Paralympic Games on Tuesday.
However, the Malaysian athlete was later disqualified as he had turned up late to the call room for the event. Zolkefli - who is reported to have been just three minutes late - was allowed to compete under protest. The 31-year-old won gold in the event five years ago in Rio.
Muhammad Ziyad Zolkefli stripped of Paralympic Games gold
"The three athletes from Australia, Ecuador and Malaysia who competed in the men’s shot put F20 final under protest had their appeal rejected by the World Para Athletics Jury of Appeal," World Para Athletics said in a statement.
"The decision was based on World Para Athletics Rule 5.5 – ‘Failure to Report to the Call Room’ which states that in case athletes are not present in the Call Room at the relevant time as published in the Call Room schedule they will be shown in the results as DNS (Did Not Start).
"In accordance with this Rule, the athletes were allowed to compete under protest while the Referee considered all the evidence as to why the athletes were late to the Call Room. Having considered the evidence, the Referee determined that there was no justifiable reason for the athletes’ failure to report to the Call Room on time.
"The athletes appealed this decision to the Jury of Appeal, who gave the teams the opportunity to present all the relevant information before making its final decision. The Jury of Appeal upheld the Referee’s decision and confirmed the athletes’ results as DNS."
Ukraine's Maksym Koval was subsequently awarded the gold medal with compatriot Oleksandr Yarovyi picking up silver and Greece's Efstratios Nikolaidis the bronze.
Malaysian Minister for Health Khairy Jamaluddin called it a "shameful decision".
"An absolute disgrace that goes against the spirit of the Paralympics," he tweeted.
"If it was a call room violation you should have not allowed them to compete in the first place. Mean spirited and petty. A stolen gold medal and world record."
This is a shameful decision. An absolute disgrace that goes against the spirit of the Paralympics. If it was a call room violation you should have not allowed them to compete in the first place. Mean spirited and petty. A stolen gold medal and world record.
— Khairy Jamaluddin 🇲🇾🌺 (@Khairykj) August 31, 2021
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