BEIJING, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Swimmer Zul Amirul Sidi Abdullah, 26, could only shed tears after failing to win a medal of any colour for the country in the men's S5 backstroke final of the Paralympic Games at the National Aquatic Centre also known as the `Water Cube' here Monday night.
"I regret what happened tonight but it was not anybodies fault but mind, not even the coach was at fault. After qualifying for the final, I could not focus as there were all kinds of thoughts going through my mind.
"I wish to apologize to all Malaysians for not winning a medal," said Zul Amirul amidst trying to hold back tears that was already flowing freely.
But despite losing, Zul Amirul who clocked 42.94s in the final compared to 42.74s in the qualifying was satisfied with his time.
Zul Amirul had started off in style during the morning qualifying session when his time of 42.74s bettered the 42.87s he clocked during the Asean Para Games in Korat early this year.
Meanwhile, the gold medal in the event was won by Brazil's Daniel Dias with a time of 35.28s, 0.15 faster than defending champion and home favourite He Jungquan who clocked 35.43s for the silver while Hungarian Zsolt Vereczkei took the bronze with 38.78s.
Meanwhile his coach May Ng said she was satisfied with Zul Amirul's performance in the Games.
"He did the best he could but the other participants were very strong and it was a bit difficult for him to match them. The good thing is that he could maintain his time," said May Ng.
She added that another swimmer, Yusuf Dewa will be hoping to make up for Zul Amirul's loss when he competes in the men's 50m Freestyle S6 on Sept 15.
-- BERNAMA
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