Debutant Hafizuddin wins last-lift thriller

PETALING JAYA: Mohd Hafizuddin Roslin (pic) made a dream Commonwealth Games debut, holding his nerve to win the men’s 88kg gold after surviving a tense final-lift showdown.

The 22-year-old had to wait until New Zealand’s Cameron McTaggart failed with his last attempt before celebrating a memorable victory at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) Armadillo in Glasgow.

Hafizuddin seized the initiative in the clean and jerk with an opening lift of 180kg.

McTaggart matched the effort to stay in contention, but the Malaysian restored his advantage by successfully lifting 183kg on his second attempt.

McTaggart then edged ahead after clearing 184kg, forcing Hafizuddin to raise the bar to 185kg in a bid to reclaim the lead.

The Malaysian, however, failed to complete the lift.

The Kiwi responded by calling for 192kg on his final attempt to seal the gold but failed, handing the title to Hafizuddin.

Hafizuddin finished with a total of 345kg after dominating the snatch with a Games record lift of 162kg. McTaggart settled for silver on 338kg.

Scotland’s Angus Doig claimed bronze with a total of 309kg after lifting 135kg in the snatch and 174kg in the clean and jerk.

Hafizuddin’s triumph moved Malaysia to within one gold of its five-gold target.

The country’s other three gold medals have also come through weightlifters Aniq Kasdan (60kg), Aznil Bidin (65kg) and Erry Hidayat (79kg).