THE finest of margins can often decide between a medal finish at the Olympics or returning empty-handed.
And it can be heartbreaking.
Weightlifter Aniq Kasdan knows that. He missed out on a bronze medal by just 1kg.
Despite his near miss, Aniq deserves all the pats on the back he is getting.
Malaysia Weightlifting Federation (MWF) president Datuk Ayub Rahmat said everything that could have been done for Aniq was done, but sometimes the results are out of their hands.
“We tried our best, it has been a long journey to the Olympics. From the beginning, I mentioned that it would up to fate whether we win or lose.
“This is an amazing achievement for Aniq in his first Olympics for which he qualified by merit.
“Thank you to all the Malaysians but we are sorry for not being able to give Malaysia a medal,” said Ayub.
Aniq, who is still only 22, was only 1kg behind bronze medal winner Hampton Morris of the United States when they competed at the South Paris Arena on Wednesday.
He lifted a new national record total of 297kg, lifting 130kg in the snatch and 167kg in the clean and jerk.
After the snatch, Aniq cleared 167kg in his first attempt but was forced to increase his next lift to 174kg after Thailand’s Theerapoing Silachai cleared 172kg.
Aniq’s target was four kg more than his national record of 170kg, and he failed to clear it in his final two attempts. On hindsight, if he had gone for 172kg and succeeded, he would have got bronze but it was a gamble the team had to take.
Ayub explained that they decided to increase Aniq’s attempt to 174kg due to Morris’ personal best of 178kg.
“In training, Aniq could lift 175kg. So we saw this as a positive strategy to lift 174kg, and he almost did it.
“If we had gone with 170kg, Morris would have increased his lift, and we would have still finished in fourth,” he said.
Despite the heartbreak, Aniq’s performance showed Malaysia that he is a champion in the making. He could also be an Olympic medallist in the future.
