SUKMA 2024: MWF Far From Pleased Despite Record-breaking Show By Lifters

By Muhammad Zulkarnain Mohd Azman

KUCHING, Aug 25 (Bernama) -- Nine new national records may have been set in weightlifting at the 2024 Malaysia Games (SUKMA), which ended yesterday, and one would feel that the Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) would be pleased with that achievement.

Instead, the MWF believes that the overall achievement of the lifters, especially that by the national backup lifters, is far from satisfactory.

For the record, Perlis and Terengganu lifters shared the limelight by snapping up four gold medals each out of the 16 on offer at SUKMA 2024.

The star of the show was Perlis’ Muhammad Hafizuddin Roslin, who broke the national record eight times in the men’s 181-kilogramme (kg) category by lifting 151kg in the snatch and 181kg in the clean and jerk for a total lift of 332kg for his first gold medal in the biennial Games.

As for the women’s category, Perak’s Qharisya Suffia Mohd Muzani was just as impressive after setting new records in the snatch with a lift of 65kg and 79kg in the clean and jerk to top the podium in the 45kg category with a total lift of 144kg.

But, as far as MWF president Datuk Ayub Rahmat is concerned, everything is not what it seems, saying they will review the performance of all backup lifters who did not meet the targets set for them at the Games.

“I see that the overall lift at SUKMA 2024 is actually not very satisfactory. We are also disappointed that there are some backup lifters who failed to strike gold.

“So, we will review their performances and see if they need to compete in a different category and why they failed to impress at SUKMA 2024,” he said when contacted by Bernama.

Meanwhile, he said the MWF had identified several lifters who competed at SUKMA 2024 to be roped into the national squad, with Hafizuddin being one of them following his stellar performance.

At the same time, he was also happy to see the participation of young athletes at SUKMA 2024, saying that it shows the sport has a bright future if the lifters are given sufficient and continuous training.

“If we look at this edition, many of the lifters were aged around 15 and above. So, we hope they will not stop here. They also need to be given the space to hone their skills,” he said.

-- BERNAMA