Oh, so close!
Weightlifter Jabriella disappointed not to break two national records
IT was a case of so near, yet so far for r weightlifter Jabriella Teo Samuel of f Federal Territories in her final Malaysia a Games (Sukma) outing.
The 20-year-old was on course for t two national records but a dizzy spell hit h her and she managed to break only one en route ute to winning two gold medals in the girls’ 75kg category.
She lifted 86kg in the snatch event at the Merdeka Hall in Tapah to erase an eight-year national record of 85kg set by Arisha Farra Erwin of Johor at the 2010 Melaka Sukma.
But the girl from Ampang managed only 100kg to win the gold in clean and jerk event and it was not good enough to rewrite her own Games record of 102kg and erase the national mark of 103kg set by Intan Ayuni Abdullah in at the 2013 National Championships in Sabah.
The Bukit Jalil Sports School pre-university student said she had lifted her personal best 105kg in clean and jerk during training a month ago.
“I’m glad to win two gold medals but I’m disappointed to miss my second national mark although I know I’m capable,” said Jabriella.
“I had lifted 105kg in training but I felt likke fainting when I attempted 104kg today, so I had to drop the barbell ... it’s so frustratingg to fail at this stage.”
Jabriella picked up the sport after her bodybuilder father Samuel Bingan asked her to reduce weight and train under his friend and national weightlifter Matin Guntali.
“I like to eat and my father asked me to lose weight.
“Initially, I cried because of the training and I wanted to give up but coach Matin kept encouraging me and now I’m in the national junior team,” said Jabriella, who’s competing in her fourth Sukma.
“I’ve competed at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April and that was an eye-opener to me, I’m much more matured now,” said the plucky Jabriella, who is determined to erase the national mark at the National Weightlifting Championship in Kota Kinabalu in December.