Akma 'lifts' two gold medals on her debut

KUCHING: Being calm proved to be the key of success for Zaiedatul Akma Mohd Sha'ari in lifting two gold medals in the weightlifting events in her debut at the Malaysia Games (Sukma), here, today.

"I thought of my mother and father ... and I became calm throughout the tournaments," the Terengganu athlete, who is fondly known as Akma, said.

In the 53kg Women's Snatch category, she had successfully lifted 69kg, while Pahang's Zaleha Yusop (68kg) and Sabah's Elly Cascandra Engelbert (66kg) emerged second and third respectively.

In the Clean and Jerk category, Akma managed to lift 83kg, followed by Siti Zaleha with 82kg and Elly Cascandra with 75kg.

"I am very satisfied with my performance, here, as my best personal record before this in the Snatch was only 68kg, while in the Clean and Jerk it was 80kg," said Akma, who hopes to defend her gold in Sukma Perak in 2018.
The weightlifting event was held at the Dewan Jubli, Universiti Teknologi Mara Kota Samarahan, here.

The two gold medals contributed by the form five student from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Telipot, had also become the first ever medals for her weightlifting squad, which subsequently completed the squad's target for the 18th Sukma.
"This time around, we only targetted two golds, one silver and a bronze and with these golds, we could say that our initial target had already been achieved.

"However, I am confident that we still have the opportunity to add more medals," said Terengganu weightlifting coach, Muhammad Amirul Hisham Kamal. — Bernama