KUALA LUMPUR – A decision on the Malaysian Weightlifting Federation’s (MWF) appeal to include Mohamad Aniq Kasdan and Muhamad Aznil Bidin in the Road To Gold programme will only be known after the committee in charge has met, said the sports minister.
Hannah Yeoh said she could not pre-empt the committee, which she jointly chairs with Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tan Sri Mohamad Norza Zakaria.
“As I have said before, all decisions on athletes joining or leaving ((the programme) can only be decided by the committee, which is jointly chaired by the minister and OCM president and has former athletes as members.
“So, let’s wait for the committee meeting to make a decision,” she said when met at an event at Stadium Juara here today.
The Road to Gold committee is expected to meet after the Hangzhou Asian Games from September 23 to October 8.
MWF president Datuk Ayub Rahmat has appealed to Hannah to rope Aniq and Aznil into the programme.
The issue of Aniq’s possible inclusion has cropped up as he is now ranked ninth globally and meets the criteria to join the gold medal programme.
This was after the Johor-born athlete won bronze in the clean & jerk at the World Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a lift of 166kg in the 61kg category, last Wednesday.
He recorded 125kg in the snatch for a total lift of 291kg, which broke the national record and placed him on the right track for Olympic qualification.
Only the top 10 athletes in each category will automatically qualify for next year’s Paris Olympics. – September 10, 2023