S’gor woman weightlifter breaks national record

TAPAH: Selangor athlete Nur Afiqah Nadhrah Mohammed Borhan broke the national record in the snatch category in weightlifting below 90kg, at the Tapah District Council Merdeka Hall here yesterday.

The 20-year-old athlete managed to wipe out the national record of 91kg belonging to Kelantan athlete Siti Aisyah Md Rosli at the 2018 Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast with a lift of 92kg.

All the sweeter, the success of the Hulu Selangor athlete also created a new record for the Sukma championship following the category was being contested for the first time in the biennial Games.

Participating for the last time in Sukma, Nur Afiqah Nadhrah conceded she was a bit unhappy as she had not recovered from a recent shoulder injury and believed she could have performed better as her personal best in the snatch category was 95kg.

“I have been rather hardy since small and have been involved in this sport since the age of 15. This is because I followed in the footsteps of my eldest brother and two younger siblings who are also active in the sport.

“Regardless, I am happy and satisfied after winning two gold medals and creating a national record,” said Nur Afiqah Nadhrah, who also won gold for the clean and jerk event with 116kg.

She said she participated in Sukma this time without any pressure despite being labelled as among the candidates who were capable of winning the gold medal following Sukma 2016 Sarawak, where she won the gold medal in the below 75kg snatch category.

She also dreamed of being given the opportunity of donning the national jersey and representing Malaysia in any weightlifting tournament.

Meanwhile, the silver medal for the snatch category was won by Johor’s Mimi Syazwani Zainal Abidin who lifted 85kg while Sabah athlete Caroline Joachim won bronze with 82kg.

The silver medal for the clean and jerk was won by Caroline with 110kg while Mimi Syazwani was forced to settle for bronze after lifting 103kg. - Bernama