KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will compete in weightlifting at the Olympics for a first time since Beijing 2008 after the national team secured qualification for the Rio Games at the Asian Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan today.
The squad notched one of seven slots on offer for nations that had yet to qualify for the Olympiad. The Asian meet is the final qualifying event for the region.
The team managed a total of 137 points from the 56kg, 62kg, 69kg, 77kg and 105kg categories to safely place third behind Japan (144) and Iran (142) as of 6PM, though the 105KG and above class will only be held later tonight.
Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) honorary secretary Pang Siew Huat, who is with the team in Tashkent, said Malaysia will be able to send one weightlifter of its choice to the Rio Games.
"It is not over yet, but we should finish among the top four from the countries that have not qualified yet," said Siew Huat, via text message.
"The whole team had done very well in the face of the fierce competition.
"We will discuss with our coaches as well as the National Sports Council on who to send to the games once we return to Malaysia."
Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim was the last Malaysian to compete at the Olympics in 2008.
He qualified on individual merit after finishing fourth at the Asian Olympic qualifiers held in Japan in the same year.