KUALA LUMPUR: With only three days remaining at the Paris Paralympics, can the Malaysian contingent still achieve their ambitious four-gold medal target?
The outlook appears challenging, especially after Ziyad Zolkefli secured only silver in the men's shot put F20 (intellectual impairment) on Tuesday.
Ziyad's best throw of 17.18m placed him second at Stade de France, behind Ukraine's Oleksandr Yarovyi, who clinched gold with a world record throw of 17.61m.
While Ziyad's performance is commendable, his inability to secure the targeted gold means Malaysia must look elsewhere to meet their goal by Sunday.
To date, Cheah Liek Hou has claimed Malaysia's sole gold, successfully defending his men's singles SU5 (upper limb impairment) badminton title on Monday.
Hopes remain high that Malaysia can still match their record three-gold haul from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
The spotlight now turns to Abdul Latif Romly in athletics and Bonnie Bunyau Gustin in powerlifting.
Both are reigning world and Paralympic champions in their respective events: men's T20 long jump (intellectual impairment) and men's 72kg powerlifting.
Bonnie will compete first on Friday at La Chapelle Arena.
Barring any upset, he is favoured to win his second consecutive gold.
The Sarawakian-born athlete holds the world record of 231kg, set at the 2023 World Para Powerlifting Championships.
His best lift this year was 218kg, achieved at the Powerlifting World Cup in Dubai in January.
Bonnie's main competition comes from Britain's Mark Swan and Italy's Donato Telesca, whose season-bests are 217kg and 216kg respectively.
"There's definitely pressure to defend the title, but I need to focus mentally on achieving that and breaking the record as well," said Bonnie recently.
"As for the challenger from Italy, I'm unsure of his latest progress, so I'm approaching this with caution."
A successful title defence would see Bonnie join the exclusive club of Malaysian Paralympic multiple gold medallists, currently occupied only by Latif and Liek Hou.
Latif will compete on Sunday, the final day, aiming to become the first Malaysian to win three gold medals at the Paralympics.
Despite holding the world record of 7.64m, Latif faces strong competition from Russia's Lakushev Matvei, competing under the Neutral Paralympic Athletes banner.
Matvei's season-best mark of 7.40m surpasses Latif's 7.37m.
Latif is relishing taking on Matvei for the first time in an international competition.
"Looking at the world rankings, Matvei was already ranked first even before the World Championships. He's now firmly established as the world No. 1," said Latif recently.
"This serves as a healthy challenge, driving me to intensify my training and stay focused on defending my gold in Paris."
Currently, Malaysia have secured three medals with Eddy Bernard claiming bronze in the men's 100m T44 race on Monday.