KUCHING: Kelantan's Ahmad Shahmim Mohd Kadri smashed the national powerlifting record in the men's under 54-kilogramme (kg) category twice en route to winning two gold medals at the Malaysia Para Games (Para SUKMA) here today.
The 22-year-old from Pasir Puteh lifted 132kg to claim the best lift gold medal at the Youth and Sports Complex, with Terengganu's Muhammad Shazmin Syamsuar (91kg) taking silver and Melaka's Muhammad Zaqwan Mahat (73kg) bronze.
Ahmad Shahmim began today's competition with a 122kg lift on his first attempt, far exceeding the other lifters. He then equalled his national record of 125kg, set during the National Circuit in Kuala Lumpur in February, before lifting 128kg on his final attempt to surpass the national mark.
He then lifted 132kg in an additional attempt to blitz the national record a second time, which also surpassed the Para SUKMA record of 108kg set by Endi Bak of Sarawak in the 2018 edition in Perak.
That saw Ahmad Shahmim bagging the gold medal for the total lift category on 375kg (based on the first three attempts only), with Muhammad Shazmin (266kg) and Juwaidie Othman (195kg) settling for silver and bronze respectively.
"I'm ecstatic because this is the first time I have lifted above 130kg at a meet. I want to dedicate this success to my parents, family and everyone who has helped me.
"I was born with a condition that caused bent legs. I've been in the national squad programme for a year now, and I hope to continue improving my performance to succeed at the Asean Para Games in Thailand," he told reporters.
Kelantan continued their dominance in powerlifting today when Wan Nur Azri Wan Azman topped the men's under-107kg category.
He bagged the best lift gold with a new Games record of 191kg, erasing the old mark of 190kg set by Pahang's Mohd Shahmil Mohd Saad in the 2014 edition. Wan Nur Azri also bagged the gold medal for the total lift category with 558kg.
Sabah's Mohd Fauzan Ramlan (122kg, 363kg) and Pahang's Abdul Rahman Abd Kadir (96kg, 281kg) settled for silver and bronze for best lift and total lift respectively.– BERNAMA