‘Strange’ turn for Hafifi
WEIGHTLIFTER Hafifi Mansor trained for two years for the Sea Games, but in the end he was not allowed to compete because he was not ‘active’ enough.
Naturally Hafifi was disappointed for missing the 69kg category in the Sea Games last week, as the Glasgow Commonwealth Games gold medallist was a sure bet for a podium finish.
And stranger still was when Hafifi was selected for the Commonwealth Games qualifier — he left for the Gold Coast, Australia yesterday.
Hafifi holds the national record of 316kg overall recorded at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, while at the Sea Games the gold medallist was four kilogrammes lower.
Indonesia’s Deni lifted 312kg overall for gold, while silver went to Thailand’s Trirat Boonsut (310kg) and bronze to Vietnam’s Pham Tuan Anh (306kg).
At the Rio Olympics, Hafifi lifted 140kg in the first attempt in the snatch, and his first attempt of 176kg in the clean and jerk was also successful to better his own national overall record by 3kg.
Malaysian weightlifters ended the Sea Games campaign with one silver and one bronze.
“I really don’t understand how come I was not allowed to compete in the Sea Games but am allowed to lift in the Commonwealth Games qualifier when both the events are only a week apart. “I don’t know who made this strange decision. Even though I picked up a left thigh injury while training in China at the end of June, one week before the Sea Games, I had shown that I had recovered and was ready for action.
“And I am confident that if I was given a chance to compete in the Sea Games, I would have won gold for the nation. I really wanted to compete at home, because I don’t think I will ever get a chance to lift when the Sea Games come back to Malaysia again,” said Hafifi
The last weightlifting gold at the Sea Games was won in 2005 by Che Mad Azrul Che Mat in the 95kg and above category.