MWF intend to give Malaysia the highest lift at Commonwealth Games

Podium push: Aniq Kasdan is among the qualified weightlifters.

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) have set their sights on becoming the most successful sport for Malaysia at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games next month.

MWF president Datuk Ayub Rahmat is optimistic the squad have what it takes to bag three gold medals at the Commonwealth Games despite admitting the national lifters have yet to reach their true level.

Nine Malaysian weightlifters have qualified for the Games from July 24-31 after the end of the qualification campaign last month.

Aznil Bidin (men’s below 65kg) and Mohd Syahmi Nor Ghazali (men’s below 88kg) secured automatic qualification after winning gold medals at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Ahmedabad last year.

Seven others made the provisional qualification list through the latest International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) rankings — Aniq Kasdan (men’s below 60kg), Erry Hidayat (men’s below 79kg), Hafizuddin Roslin (men’s below 88kg), Farris Haikal (men’s above 110kg), Irene Jane Henry (women’s below 48kg), Nur Syazwani Radzi (women’s below 63kg) and Siti Aqilah Farhana (women’s above 86kg).

Ayub is pleased to see more lifters making it on merit but it was also important for the Malaysian lifters to measure up to the Commonwealth’s traditional powerhouses.

“We are targeting at least three gold medals based on the current performance of the national athletes who are becoming increasingly consistent at the international level.

“This target is not impossible as weightlifting have always been among the country’s gold medal contributors, especially at the Commonwealth Games,” he said.

However, Ayub said there is much work to be done in the remaining weeks as the total lifts recorded by the athletes have yet to meet the federation’s expectations.

“There is still significant room for improvement in terms of performance, consistency and mental strength required to compete on a major stage like the Commonwealth Games.

“Our focus will be to to improve lifting performance, recovery, sports nutrition and also the importance of good mental preparation ahead of Glasgow.

“We don’t want to just qualify. We want to arrive as gold medal contenders and provide genuine competition to other nations.”