Shot putt ace becomes first M’sian to clear 19m

Milestone: National shot putter Jonah Chang Rigan produced a throw of 19.12m at the World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meet. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star

PETALING JAYA: National shot putter Jonah Chang Rigan continued his remarkable rise by shattering the national record for the third time in just 12 months, becoming the first Malaysian to breach the coveted 19-metre barrier.

The 23-year-old produced a throw of 19.12m at the Qosanov Memorial, a World Athletics Continental Tour Bronze meet in Almaty, Kazakhstan, yesterday, eclipsing his previous national mark of 18.81m set at the Asian Throwing Championships in May.

The latest milestone adds to an extraordinary year for the Sarawak-born athlete, who first rewrote the national record with a 18.78m effort on his way to winning his maiden SEA Games gold medal in Bangkok last year.

Jonah finished second in the competition behind Georgia’s Giorgi Mujaridze, who won with a throw of 19.99m, while Kazakhstan’s Ivan Ivanov placed third with 18.67m.

The performance further underlines Jonah’s steady progression and strengthens hopes that he can soon challenge the 20m mark.

Despite the record-breaking effort, Jonah remains short of the 19.74m automatic qualifying standard for the 2026 Asian Games and is expected to earn his place under the Category B selection.

Meanwhile, national long jumper Andre Anura Anuar also clinched silver in Kazakhstan with a leap of 7.44m.

Although it was far from his national record of 8.02m, Andre came in behind Tajikistan’s Ildar Ahmadiev, who set a distance of 7.62m, while Azerbaijan’s Jabir Aliyev took bronze with 7.38m.