KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's chances of qualifying at least one weightlifter for the Paris Olympics are looking bright at the moment.
Malaysia Weightlifting Federation (MWF) honorary secretary Wan Muhammad Hafiz Wan Izanatar said that both Aniq Kasdan, 21, and Aznil Bidin, 29, are on track to qualifying in the men's Under-61 kilogramme division.
"After three qualifying tournaments, Aznil is currently 10th on 285 kilogrames (combined best) in the qualifying rankings while Aniq is 11th on 284kg," said Hafiz when contacted today.
"Athletes who place within the top-10 when the qualifying period ends in April will qualify for Paris.
"We are quite pleased with their progress so far and hopefully they can strenghten their position in the remaining qualifying events.
"Unfortunately, only one weightlifter per nation is allowed to compete in each weight category at the Olympics so they will have to compete against each other.
"Both Aniq and Aznil will next compete at the World Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Sept 2-17).
"Due to the (world championship) event date being close to the Hangzhou Asian Games (Sept 23-Oct 8), we have decided not to send them to China and instead have them focus on the world meet."
The Under-61kg category event at the world championships will be held on Wednesday (Sept 6).
The duo will also have the chance to compete in the continental qualifiers (venue yet to be named) in February next year as well as the World Cup in Phuket (April).
Aniq previously competed in the Under-55kg class but has since stepped up to the Under-61kg division as the Under-55kg class is not part of the Olympic programme.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) had banned Malaysia and Thailand from competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021) due to the high number of doping cases recorded in both countries at the time.
MWF have come down hard on the issue in recent years, going as far as disbanding the national team in 2021, barring its athletes from competing in international competitions as well as imposing mandatory pre-competition drug screening prior to the Malaysia Games.