Aznil relieved after RTG inclusion, eyes historic Commonwealth hattrick

Motivated: Mohd Aznil Bidin holds the national record of 306kg, which he cleared en route to winning silver at the Thailand SEA Games last year. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS / The Star

PETALING JAYA: National weightlifter Mohd Aznil Bidin sees his inclusion in the Road to Gold (RTG) programme as the perfect tonic to help him make history for Malaysia at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July.

Aznil and squash player Ng Eain Yow were named on Tuesday as the latest additions to the RTG programme, which will become a full- time initiative from this year.

The 31-year-old lifter, who is now competing in the men’s 65kg category, said he was quietly expecting the good news.

“I was training when the news came that I would be joining Aniq Kasdan (men’s below 61kg) in the RTG programme.

“I was not too surprised as I had finished fifth in the 65kg category at the World Championships in Norway end of last year.

“I was really hoping I would get a place as I met the selection criteria and I finally got it.

“It’s a new category that was introduced for the Olympics. I had competed in the 67kg category previously but decided to change to this 65kg category as it would be introduced at the next Olympics.

“I went for a few competitions to prepare myself and managed to make my mark at the world meet.”

At the world meet, Aznil lifted a total of 301kg but it was not his personal best.

He holds the national record of 306kg, which he cleared en route to winning silver at the Thailand SEA Games last year.

Aznil now has further motivation to achieve a hattrick of wins at the Commonwealth Games in September.

If he wins gold, Aznil will become the first Malaysian weightlifter to achieve three golds in a row in the Commonwealth Games history.

“I hope that with the help of RTG, I can achieve my best performance at the Commonwealth Games and SEA Games in Malaysia next year.

“Hopefully, I can break my national record and get my third career gold. The lifters from India and Papua New Guinea should be my strongest challengers.”

For the record, Kedah-born Aznil made his Commonwealth Games debut by winning gold in the 62kg category at the 2018 edition in Gold Coast, Australia.

He repeated the feat under a different category in Birmingham four years later, winning the 61kg category.