Hairstylist bags silver in powerlifting

NATIONAL powerlifter Jong Yee Khie took the silver medal in the men’s heavyweight powerlifting at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia yesterday.

In the final event held at Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre, Yee Khie lifted 188.7kg. Nigeria’s Abdul Azeez Ibrahim won the gold while Sachin Chaidhary from India took the bronze.

The hairstylist from Batu Kawa, Kuching, Sarawak, managed to lift 220kg, eight kilograms heavier than his personal best of 212kg.

“I was targeting a medal of any colour. I just tried my best because before I came here, my target was to do 215kg.

“I have done more than that because in the second attempt, I felt the weight was lighter and told the coach (Jamil Adam), that I wanted to try and lift 220kg,” he said.

National powerlifting head coach Jamil Adam noted this was a tremendous performance displayed by Yee Khie and he was confident that the athlete would give better efforts in the coming Para Asian Games.

“We went all out today. We lost just because of the body weight. But Yee Khie had shown tremendous improvement,” he added.

Meanwhile, Alia Sazana Azahari kept her nervousness under control to bag a bronze medal in the women’s 25m pistol yesterday.

Despite appearing nervous in the final at Belmont Shooting Centre, the 26-year-old athlete calmed herself to collect 26 points in the finals.

“I was shaking and really nervous and scared the whole time. I was so nervous but I paid attention and stayed focused in my aim.

“This is my first Commonwealth medal. I am very happy to contribute something for the country and my teammates. It is a dream come true,” she said. – Bernama