Erry out to carry on dad’s legacy

Strong arms: Erry Hidayat lifted his way to bronze and a new national record of 316kg at the Vietnam SEA Games in May.

PETALING JAYA: From toy barbells to the real thing and now 24 years later, weightlifter Erry Hidayat has a chance to put the smile back on his father’s face.

His father Hidayat Hamidon represented the country in weightlifting at three Commonwealth Games from 1998 to 2006.

Hidayat, born in Medan but later gained Malaysian citizenship, enjoyed his finest moment when he took gold and silver in the 69kg category at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games.

He went on to earn one more silver and one bronze at the Games before calling it quits.

Erry, who was not even born when his father became Malaysia’s first gold medallist in 48 years at the Games, believed he did not have to look elsewhere for inspiration in his bid to win his first Commonwealth Games medal in Birmingham next week.

“The Commonwealth Games holds special significance for my father.

“He is proud that I am following in his footsteps,” said Erry, who will compete in the 73kg category.

“I started out in the same category as my father (69kg) before the weight revision.

“This is my second Games and I’m wiser.

“I’m ranked second in my class and hope to live up to the ranking and improve on the national record I set at the SEA Games,” said Erry, who was placed fifth in his debut in Gold Coast, Australia in 2018.

Erry lifted his way to bronze and a new national record of 316kg at the Vietnam SEA Games in May.

“My biggest rival is India’s Achinta Sheuli. He was the silver medallist at the World Junior Championships in Uzbekistan last year (with a total of 313kg),” said Erry, a two-time Malaysia Games (Sukma) gold medallist for Federal Territories.

There is added motivation for Erry too as a gold is worth RM80,000, silver RM40,000 and bronze RM20,000 under the National Sports Council (NSC) incentive scheme.

“Dad’s health has not been good recently and he was also struggling to provide for the family, so I hope I can achieve something to cheer him up,” said Erry, a silver medallist at the Commonwealth Championships in Tashkent last year.

“He always encouraged me to work hard and not take shortcuts,” he said.

Hidayat wants his son to complete his mission without any mishaps and winning a medal is a bonus.

“Erry is a good son. He even helped me with pocket money from his allowance after I had to stop driving Grab because of the pandemic. I wish him the best always,” said the former SEA Games gold medallist.

Erry is currently on a one-month training stint in Lampung, Indonesia, along with the Birmingham-bound weightlifters. The team have been given the target of achieving three medals.

Also in the fray are World Championships silver medallist Aniq Kasdan (56kg) and Aznil Bidin, who will be defending his Common-wealth title in the 62kg category.

At the last Games, the sport contributed two golds from Azroy Hazalwafie (56kg), Aznil (85kg), and one bronze from Mohd Fazrul Azrie (85kg).