Unhappy with their 2017 SEA Games performances, Malaysian paralympians Ziyad Zolkefli and Abdul Latif Romly want to do better at the ASEAN Para Games, which will be held in Kuala Lumpur from September 17 to 23.
The two Rio Paralympic gold medallists participated at the recent regional meet, becoming the first para-athletes to do so in SEA Games history.
Ziyad clinched a respectable bronze medal finish but failed to achieve his target of breaking his own world record of 17.29m, while Latif suffered from food poisoning, which affected his performance and saw him finish seventh in the final.
At the upcoming Para Games, Ziyad is aiming to control his emotions better and not let the occasion get the better of him, which happened at the SEA Games.
"Truthfully, [the opportunity of competing at the SEA Games in front of our fans] should've motivated me, but I failed to control my emotions and lost focus," he said.
"So, this time I want to enjoy the occasion as much as I can.
"As for the goal of breaking my own record, I would love to do it, but my training is not as intense as during the SEA Games, so we'll see."
Latif, meanwhile, wants to utilise the second chance of competing in front of home fans to the fullest.
"The 2017 ASEAN Para Games will be the best stage for me to erase my SEA Games disappointment and strive to do as well as I can," said the Perlis-born star, who won gold in the long jump F20 event in Singapore two years ago.
"I do not know too much about my opponents because every athlete undergoes a different training process.
"We do not know what will happen during the competition, so we will need to stay alert."
The two Rio Paralympic gold medallists participated at the recent regional meet, becoming the first para-athletes to do so in SEA Games history.
Ziyad clinched a respectable bronze medal finish but failed to achieve his target of breaking his own world record of 17.29m, while Latif suffered from food poisoning, which affected his performance and saw him finish seventh in the final.
At the upcoming Para Games, Ziyad is aiming to control his emotions better and not let the occasion get the better of him, which happened at the SEA Games.
"Truthfully, [the opportunity of competing at the SEA Games in front of our fans] should've motivated me, but I failed to control my emotions and lost focus," he said.
"So, this time I want to enjoy the occasion as much as I can.
"As for the goal of breaking my own record, I would love to do it, but my training is not as intense as during the SEA Games, so we'll see."
Latif, meanwhile, wants to utilise the second chance of competing in front of home fans to the fullest.
"The 2017 ASEAN Para Games will be the best stage for me to erase my SEA Games disappointment and strive to do as well as I can," said the Perlis-born star, who won gold in the long jump F20 event in Singapore two years ago.
"I do not know too much about my opponents because every athlete undergoes a different training process.
"We do not know what will happen during the competition, so we will need to stay alert."
