SEA Games: Weightlifter Muhamad Aznil misses out on gold by just 3kg
From Vikneswaran Raman
HANOI, May 20 (Bernama) -- A mere three kilogrammes (kg) was all that separated national weightlifter Muhamad Aznil Bidin and gold medallist Eko Yuli Irawan of Indonesia in the men’s 61kg category in the 31st SEA Games at the Hanoi Sports Training & Competition Centre here today.
The only consolation for silver medallist Muhamad Aznil, 27, is that he at least created a new national record of 287kg to erase the previous mark of 285kg that he had set in Pattaya, Thailand in 2019.
Eko Yuli Irawan, who won the silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, defended his SEA Games gold medal when he lifted a total of 290kg.
Vietnam’s Ngoc Trung Nguyen had to be contented with the bronze after lifting 286kg.
“It was just not meant to be because my second lift was scratched, if not I might have won gold today. The result has given me the confidence to defend the gold medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in July… but I will need to maintain my performance level,” he said.
His achievement today also saw him go one better than when he won a bronze with a lift of 283kg at the 2019 edition in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Marceeta Marlyne Marcus cut a forlorn figure after managing to only finish fifth in the women’s 59kg category with an overall lift of 178kg.
“My performance today was certainly not my best. It must be noted that the weightlifting squad was disbanded last year (due to doping issues), then I injured my wrist when we resumed training.
“So, I only had about a month to prepare after recovery… that may have had an effect on my performance today. After this, I will continue to train for the Commonwealth Games (in Birmingham), where I hope to do better,” she said.
Vietnam’s Hoong Thi Duyen managed to defend the gold medal with a lift of 204kg, with Thailand’s Pimsiri Sirikaew (196kg) and Myanmar’s Naw Ta Boe Yar (191kg) taking silver and bronze respectively.
-- BERNAMA
