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KUALA LUMPUR – National weightlifter Mohamad Aniq Kasdan hopes his improved clean and jerk techniques would help in the gold mission at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games next month.
Mohamad Aniq, admitted that he is apprehensive as it is his debut at the Commonwealth Games from July 28 to August 8, but is confident his 30-day training stint in Lampung, Indonesia will pay off.
The 20-year-old athlete from Segamat, Johor said, Lampung is the ideal location to get ready for international level contests while he remained focused on training with his coach, Naharuddin Mahyudin currently.
“The coach does not put any pressure on me, as he believes in my ability, so I am calm and always confident in myself. I hope the preparation in Indonesia can help me give my best at the Games,” he told Bernama.
He said that the national squad would be making preparations in Indonesia starting next week, and leave for England five days before the tournament starts.
At the Vietnam SEA Games last month, Mohamad Aniq won a bronze medal after cracking his national record for the men’s 55 kg event with a total weight of 252 kg (110 kg for snatch, 142 kg for clean & jerk), surpassing the 249 kg record set at the World Weightlifting Championships, late last year.
He became the first Malaysian to win a medal at the World Championships, clinching a silver in the ‘clean and jerk’ event with a weight of 142 kg, but finished fifth overall for a total weight of 249 kg.
Asked about the trust placed on him to bring home a gold medal from Birmingham, he said it made him more motivated to showcase his best performance.
“I feel more enthusiastic when they believe in me as they are sure of my capabilities,” he said. – Bernama, June 17, 2022