MWF To Bolster National Squad And End Two-Decade SEA Games Drought

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) will strengthen the national squad by bringing in 15 new athletes apart from engaging the service of coach Edmund Yeo Thian Chuan full-time next year.

MWF vice-president Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim said among others, it aims to end the gold medal drought over the last two decades at the Thailand SEA Games at the end of next year.

Amirul, a former SEA Games and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, explained that Edmund, who previously assisted the national squad on loan from Sarawak, will be offered a two-year contract starting Jan 1 with a new salary rate.

“Among his KPIs (key performance indicators) is the SEA Games gold. He has done a good job, Mohamad Aniq Kasdan is comfortable under his guidance (to finish fourth at the Paris Olympics), while Muhamad Aznil Bidin and Muhammad Erry Hidayat have shown good improvement.

“We have discussed with Sarawak, they have agreed on the basis of national interest. Norshah Rizal Ruslan and women's coach Nur Jannah Batrisyah will help him manage the reserve team,” he told reporters after a joint working committee meeting with the National Sports Council (MSN) here, today.

The last time the national weightlifting squad won gold at the SEA Games was during the 2005 edition in the Philippines, when Che Mod Azrol Che Mat topped the men's top 105kg category with a total weight of 350kg.

Meanwhile, Amirul said the new athletes selected for the national team, namely five for the Podium Programme and eight for the Backup Programme, would be called to join a training camp at MSN Bukit Jalil starting January, 2025.

He said the athletes, who are 23 years old and below, were selected based on their good performance at the Sarawak Malaysia Games (SUKMA) and the national championships.

"We are taking athletes who have the potential to win medals at the SEA Games and Commonwealth Games. However, we want to ask for some time because next year we will only include them in the national squad and polish their talents.

"Maybe it won't depend on Aznil and Aniq alone... Maybe after this we will have new faces who are even better," he said.

Perlis boxer Muhammad Hafizuddin Roslin, who broke the national record eight times in the men's 81 kilogramme (kg) category at the SUKMA Sarawak, is among those said to have been directly selected for the Podium Programme.

Among the main tasks for the national boxer after this are the World Cup in Manama, Bahrain from Dec 6-15, as well as the Commonwealth Qualification in India in 2025, the date of which has not yet been set, he said.

-- BERNAMA