KUALA LUMPUR: The disqualification of long jumper Nazmi Nasri — who subsequently missed out on a silver medal — at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Para Games for failing to comply with shoe specifications, should serve as a major lesson for the Malaysian contingent.
National contingent Chef de Mission (CDM) Kelvin Than, said the incident was believed to have been unintentional, but stressed that preventive measures need to be reviewed to avoid a recurrence at future games.
Nazmi was disqualified from the men's T37-38 long jump despite recording 6.27 metres with his sixth attempt, costing him the silver medal after he was found to have breached regulations governing competition shoe specifications.
"In my view, this was unintentional. The matter will be brought to the National Sports Council, Paralympic Council of Malaysia and National Sports Institute for analysis and discussion on preventive measures.
"We hope this will not happen again at future sporting events," he said at a press conference recently.
Meanwhile, PCM president Datuk Seri Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin said compliance with technical requirements is a fundamental part of sporting regulations that all athletes must observe.
He said international technical officials had the authority to make decisions on compliance with the rules, adding that athletes needed to understand and accept such rulings rather than expect leniency because of their status as para athletes.
"We are all professional athletes. When competing, we must comply with the rules, even when they are very strict," he said.
"That is fundamental to ensuring competitions are conducted without any flaws."
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