Para athletes vow to give their best despite coach Jaganathan’s absence 

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 -- National para sprint champion Mohamad Ridzuan Mohamad Puzi will still give his best in coming competitions despite a tearful parting of ways with his revered coach R. Jaganathan.

The gold medallist in the men's 100-metre (m) T36 (cerebral palsy) category at the 2016 Rio Paralympics also accepted the fact that his decade-old mentoring by Jaganathan has come to an end and he is now braced for new frontiers under different coaches.

“Even though I have been training with coach Jaganathan for a long time, I have no problem if he is replaced with someone else... I will still train as usual.

"I am still eager to win the Paralympic gold medal again and hope my teammates will also touch gold too," he said when met at a media conference at the National Sports Council (NSC) in Bukit Jalil today.

Earlier, the NSC confirmed that Jaganathan's contract as head coach of the national para athletics squad would not be extended so as to give way to younger coaches.

The NSC also stated that the vacuum left by Jaganathan would be filled by his assistant Ahmad Rafee Arifin, who has been involved in coaching since 2018.

Meanwhile, Nasharuddin Mohamed, the winner of the gold medal in the men's 400m T20 (learning disability) category at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Para Games, admitted that he too was saddened by the latest development after five years of mentoring by Jaganathan.

"I am very grateful to him for helping me a lot, especially in achieving the gold medal in Indonesia. If possible, I want a new coach just as capable to help me chart better times," said the Asian record-holder with a time of 49.32 secs.

Sharing the same view was men’s T12 (visual impairment) 100m sprinter Muhammad Afiq Mohamad Ali Hanafiah, who described Jaganathan as having contributed a lot to the national para athletics squad.

However, Afiq, who won a bronze medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, said the NSC may have better plans in ensuring the country's athletes reach their peak in facing the three major Games this year.

"For me, there is no denying the disappointment (of Jaganathan's contract not being extended past age 60), it's just that we have been with him for such a long time. So for me, no matter who takes over as coach, I have got to live up to the same principle of wanting to do better," said the 28-year-old Johor athlete.

-- BERNAMA