KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian Weightlifting Association president Datuk Ayub Rahmat has refuted claims that team manager Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim overstepped his role in setting the lifting strategy for national athlete Mohamad Aniq Kasdan, which resulted in missing out on a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.
Speaking to Scoop, Ayub, who was also present in Paris, explained that all of Aniq’s lifting weights were determined through discussions with coach Edmund Yeo; therefore, claims that Amirul made unilateral decisions should not have arisen.
Earlier, former coach Sukri Anani criticised Amirul for overstepping his role, blaming his strategic errors for Aniq’s missed opportunity for a bronze medal in the men’s 61kg at Paris 2024.
Sukri argued that Aniq was on track to win bronze, but the decision to jump directly from 167kg to 174kg in the clean and jerk was a “cartoonish” move that cost the athlete the medal.
Ayub explained that Aniq had successfully lifted such weights during training, so the sudden increase in load was not unusual. The team made this decision in an attempt to catch up with Thai athlete Theerapong Silachai, who was contending for the silver medal.
“Many factors were considered before making the decision, and Aniq himself agreed because he felt confident he could handle the weight. This wasn’t a gamble.
“Amirul is not new to the role of team manager; he has been with Aniq for a long time, including during Aniq’s gold medal win at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
“As for the lifting weights, we had presented them to the National Sports Council well before the Paris Olympics. All the planned weights were based on data from Aniq’s training sessions.
“It just wasn’t Aniq’s day to lift that weight. If he had succeeded, we likely wouldn’t be hearing these criticisms,” said Ayub.
In the final, Aniq narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing just one kilogramme behind the bronze medalist from the United States, Hampton Morris.
Aniq placed fourth with a total lift of 297kg, while Morris secured third place with 298kg.
China’s Li Fabin successfully defended his gold medal from Tokyo with a total lift of 310kg. – August 13, 2024