KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) president Datuk Ayub Rahmat believes that national weightlifter Mohamad Aniq Kasdan has what it takes to win a medal at the Paris Olympic Games in July.
Speaking to Scoop, Ayub said the federation is aiming for Aniq to bring home a medal from Paris, regardless of the colour.
However, now Ayub wants an explanation of Aniq’s below-par performance at the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Cup event in Phuket, Thailand, yesterday.
Aniq finished eighth in Phuket to book his place in Paris. He lifted 125kg in the snatch and 165kg in the clean and jerk for a total of 290kg.
It is understood that this was 6kg lower than his previous best of 296kg recorded at the IWF Grand Prix 2 in Doha, Qatar, last year.
“We targeted him to lift a total of 300kg in Phuket but he did not achieve it. Before this event, we sent him to Aceh for a month-long training camp to tighten his snatch technique.
“I have asked the coaches to analyse and explain the factors that led to the decline in Aniq’s total.
“Our main focus for June and July is the Olympics, so Aniq needs to clear his mind and concentrate on the mission,” Ayub said when contacted.
He added that after a short Hari Raya Aidilfitri break, the focus for Aniq will be to sharpen his technique in the snatch and the clean and jerk.
“Improving his endurance is also important, as some lifters from the United States and Thailand who were previously below Aniq improved and outperformed him in Phuket.
“The US athlete is only 20 years old but recorded a world record lift in the clean and jerk.
“However, Aniq’s performance is not too bad, it is just thatt the target was not met. But he is not too far away, so we need to figure out what led to his decline in Thailand,” added Ayub.
Previously, Ayub mentioned that Aniq needs to lift a total of 305kg-310kg to stand a chance of winning a medal at the Paris Games.
He said that there were a total of four athletes that lifted 300kg and above at the World Cup event.
“Even the Thai athlete had lifted 299kg, so he is nearing the 300kg mark.
“But if you see Aniq’s increase in his total lift, it is very sudden from the time he transitioned weight categories.
“He has already achieved 296kg so for him to add nine to 10kg, I believe he can do it, I’m just perplexed as to why he could not improve on his personal best total (in Phuket),” Ayub said.
Mohd Hafifi Mansor was the last Malaysian weightlifter to qualify for the Olympics at Rio 2016 in the 69kg weight class. – April 3, 2024