In case you didn’t know, Mohamad Ridzuan Puzi, is a Malaysian Paralympic athlete who competes in T36 classification sprint (running) and long jump events. He represented Malaysia at the 2016 Summer Paralympics at Rio de Janeiro, where he won the gold medal in the 100 metres event, Malaysia’s first-ever Paralympic gold medal.

Mohamad Ridzuan had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of one. Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect a person's ability to move and maintain balance and posture.

He started his journey at a small burger stall where he helped out by cutting some vegetables. His coach, Jaganathan Ramasamy, saw his potential and managed to persuade him to take up the challenge. 

Training Ridzuan, was not an easy job for Coach Jaganathan. He had to learn how to polish Ridzuan’s talents by working around the limits his condition had caused him. 

There were days when the training sessions were long and hard, Ridzuan would get frustrated and refuse to continue training for the rest of the day. Slowly and steadily, the potential Coach Jaganathan saw in Ridzuan began to shine. 

Throughout his career, he managed to win 6 gold medals and 3 silver gold medals. 

This year, Coach Jaganathan is confident the success accomplished during the 2016 Games will be repeated in Tokyo this year. Ridzuan feels the same way and is excited and determined to return home with a gold medal around his neck. 

We wish you all the best Ridzuan! We know you will make us all proud!