National weightlifter Mohd Hafifi Mansor bags gold medal in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2013 at the State Youth and Sports Ministry Hall in Batu Uban, Penang.
GEORGE TOWN: National weightlifter Mohd Hafifi Mansor geared up for the SEA Games competition in style by bagging a gold medal in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2013 at the State Youth and Sports Ministry Hall in Batu Uban, Penang.
Hafifi, who has been nursing a thigh muscle tear for the past two years, proved he is back on form by triumphing in the men’s 69kg and below category.
En route to his 307kg total victory, the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games bronze medallist also rewrote the national record in the snatch event of the category.
His successful 138kg lift in the snatch bettered the previous 137kg mark held by former national lifter Mohd Fairol Talib.
Hafifi’s combined 307kg total, however, was off the 313kg national mark and the 321kg Commonwealth record.
Takenibeia Toromon of Kiribati (288kg) took the silver while Nigeria’s Yinka Ayenuwa (285kg) settled for the bronze.
“I was instructed to compete in Penang at the very last minute and only flew in from our SEA Games training base in Bandung on Wednesday,” said Hafifi.
“I expected a tougher field of competitors for the 69kg event here and did not expect to win so easily.
“Rewriting the national record for the snatch is a bonus as this effort places me in the right frame of mind for the main challenge – the SEA Games weightlifting competition in Myanmar in three weeks’ time.
“I’ve been struggling with a muscle injury for the past two years. I can put the painful experience behind me if I can follow up this Commonwealth Championships victory with a triumph in Myanmar,” added the 23-year-old from Kuala Terengganu.
The Malaysian women failed to occupy podium finishes in the 63kg and 69kg events.
Elyonie Martin, the daughter of national weightlifting legend Martin Guntali, settled for fifth among 20 contestants in the 63kg and below event with a combined total of 177kg.
Her team-mate Nur Shafia Irwanie failed to register a total score after failing all three attempts to lift 87kg in the clean and jerk.
The event was won by Nigeria’s Agatha Okoli Obioma with a 222kg combined total.
In the 69kg and below, Nor Khasida Halim finished fifth with a 183kg total while Khairani Malek was ninth with a 180kg total among 14 contestants.
Ebireguesele Itohan of Nigeria won with a 215kg total, just 1kg short of equalling the Commonwealth record.
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