KUALA LUMPUR: Abdul Latif Romly and Ziyad Zolkefli have accomplished their first mission by retaining their world para titles in Kobe, Japan.
Now, they are focused on making headlines at the Paris Paralympics from Aug 28-Sept 8.
Latif and Ziyad not only aim to win gold medals at the Paralympics but also to achieve this by rewriting the world records.
Perlis-born Latif is going for his third Paralympic title after victories at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Ziyad, meanwhile, hopes to make amends following his disqualification at Tokyo 2020 and win his second Paralympic crown after Rio 2016.
Latif and Ziyad will each receive RM80,000 under the National Sports Council (NSC) incentive scheme for winning the men's long jump T20 (intellectual impairment) and shot put T20, respectively, in Kobe.
The 27-year-old Latif won his fourth gold, while the 34-year-old Ziyad took his third title at the World Championships.
The duo, together with Eddy Bernard, who won silver in the men's T44 (leg disability), will head to Germany for a training stint on June 22.
"The RM80,000 reward is a boost for my Paris mission. I hope to defend my Paralympic title and break my own world record," said Latif, whose world record stands at 7.64m.
Ziyad said although he is already 34, he is still in good shape to feature in his fourth Paralympics.
"I am happy with my performance in Kobe with a throw of 17.43m. I hope to smash the current world record of 17.56m in Paris and win my second gold."
In Kobe, Malaysia won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
Nazmi Nasir, who won the long jump T37 (cerebral palsy) event, will also receive RM80,000. Eddy, who won silver in the long jump, will get RM40,000.
Bronze medallists Wong Kar Gee (long jump T12) and Ammar Aiman (400m T20) will each receive RM20,000.
