A national record has been broken by our Malaysian weightlifter, Aniq Kasdan, who lifted 130kg during his run at the weightlifting competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He surpassed weightlifter Aznil Bidin’s previous national record of 129kg, made at the 2023 World Championships in Riyadh. Although the athlete was one kilogram short of a bronze medal, his performance has shown his potential to come back stronger for the future Olympics.
The record-breaking sportsman’s performance included a snatch with 130kg and a clean and jerk lift of 167kg leading to the national record. However, despite his strength and hard work, the young star did not manage to receive a place on the podium.
Aniq Kasdan had completed the competition placing fourth with a total lift of 297kg. The Bronze medal went to Hampton Morris from the USA team, who lifted just a kilogram higher at 298kg. The gold medal went towards the previous victor, Li Fabin, from China, who had previously received his gold title at the Tokyo Games.
Malaysian Minister of Youth & Sports Hannah Yeoh congratulated the weightlifter via Instagram and a Story post, encouraging him to work harder for the next games and not to be too upset about this near miss. The politician represents Malaysians who are still rooting for the athlete and congratulating him for breaking a new national record.
In an interview, the national athlete kept his spirits high by saying, “Today’s results will make me stronger in the future”, which touched the hearts of Malaysians rooting for him. Although another Olympic medal wasn’t brought back to our country, Aniq Kasdan will go down in history as a record-breaking weightlifter.
Source: Instagram
Jade Mary contributed to this article.
