Not letting go: Erry Hidayat holding on to his medal in his sleep.
ERRY Hidayat has followed in his father’s footsteps as a Commonwealth Games medal winner by lifting a silver in the men’s 73kg weightlifting competition in Birmingham.
He was only one year old when his father Hidayat Hamidon ended the nation’s 48-year wait for gold by winning the men’s 69kg clean and jerk category at the 1998 edition in Kuala Lumpur and went on to win two more silvers and one bronze at the 2002 Manchester and 2006 Melbourne edition before quitting.
And Erry is brimming with pride that he finally got onto the podium since his dad’s last action in Melbourne 16 years ago.
But the accomplishment almost did not materialise at the National Exhibition Centre on Sunday.
Erry had contracted dengue in the final week of training in Lampung, Indonesia before leaving for his second Commonwealth Games campaign in Birmingham.
He was not in the best condition but the strong resolve in his heart was what pushed him to deliver a much needed medal boost for Malaysia on the third day of the Games.
The 23-year-old was placed second with a total of 303kg behind favourite Achinta Sheuli, who took gold for India with a Games record of 313kg.
Erry lifted 138kg in the snatch and was five kilogrammes behind the Indian rival, who led the field on 143kg.
In the clean and jerk, Erry started with 165kg while Sheuli, a junior world silver medallist, cleared 166kg on his first try.
Erry then made two valiant attempts to overtake his rival for the gold on 176kg but failed and had to settle for silver.
Canada’s Shad Darsigny was third with a total lift of 298kg (135kg for snatch and 163kg for clean and jerk).
It’s a first Commonwealth Games medal for Erry.
“I was not fully fit for this competition because I came down with dengue earlier,” admitted Erry.
“But I didn’t tell anyone, including my father as I didn’t want him to worry.
“In fact, I felt like fainting at one point but I just tried to stay steady. I didn’t want to disappoint my father as I didn’t want to return home without a medal.
“I am still very happy with this (silver medal) but I felt I could have given the Indian lifter a stronger fight if I was in a better condition.
“It’s still good as I only finished fifth in my debut in Gold Coast,” added Erry, who had lifted his way to bronze and a new national record of 316kg at the Vietnam SEA Games in May.
Erry’s feat was the first silver for the Malaysian contingent in Birmingham and the third medal for the weightlifting team.
Aniq Kasdan and Aznil Bidin delivered gold medals in the respective 55kg and 61kg events on Friday.
