19-year-old Aniq Kasdan is known to be the first Malaysian ever to win a medal at the World Weightlifting Championships last Tuesday.
Aniq earned the silver medal by lifting an impressive 142kg in the men’s Under 55kg ‘clean and jerk’ category in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. He also set a new national record in the championship by lifting 107kg in the snatch event. This earns him a total score of 249kg, beating out fellow national weightlifter Azroy Hazalwafie’s record of 248kg.
This Johorean also walks away with a Commonwealth Championships gold medal
World Weightlifting Championships is doubling up as the Commonwealth Championships, a qualifier for next year’s Commonwealth Games. Aniq also secured the gold medal for the Commonwealth Championship as he was the highest-placed lifter from a Commonwealth nation despite placing fifth overall.
Chontey from Kazakhstan, who managed 118kg for the snatch, took the overall gold in the class with a combined 260kg. Thailand’s Thada Somboonuan came in second on 256kg while Rusev was third (254kg) with Bulgaria’s Angel Hriskov Rusev coming in third.
Aniq now occupies the top spot of the qualifying rankings for the upcoming 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
Beacon of hope amid doping issues in Malaysian weightlifting
Aniq’s success comes as a timely boost for Malaysian weightlifting after the national team had been disbanded due to doping issues. One of the most recent positive cases occurred during the National Championships in Kuala Rompin, Pahang in October. Aniq even earned praises from notable people like the Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) president, Datuk Ayub Rahmat.
This is Malaysia’s best ever performance in the history of the World Championships
Datuk Ayub Rahmat
With his success, many hope that this will be an inspiration to the Malaysian sports industry, encouraging young people to work harder for their goals.
Another Malaysian also wins silver medal at the Tokyo Film Award for his documentary series, Wanted: Shades of Life.
(Source: NST)
