Malaysian powerlifters 'lift big' at Asian Classic Championships

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian powerlifters surpassed the 10 medals target by winning one gold, five silver and five bronze medals at the 2017 Asian Classic Powerlifting Championships from Dec 4-9 in Alappuzha, Kerala, India.
Carmille Wong struck gold in the squat with a lift of 137.5kg in the women's U-63kg open category and grabbed two bronze in the bench press (62.5kg) and deadlift (120kg) for an overall bronze medal of the category with a total lift of 320kg.
Gee Ci Long,29, lived up to expectation to finish second overall with a total lift of 467.5kg in the men's U-59kg open, after winning the silver in the deadlift (215kg) and bench press (110kg) events.
Malaysia made it 11 medals when Kelvin Yeoh Han Pin, won two silvers in the squat (197.5kg) and bench press (132.5kg) and bronze in the deadlift (217.5kg) to win overall bronze (547.5kg) in the men's U-74kg open.
Meanwhile, skipper Syazwan Elias failed to win medals when he finished in sixth place overall in the men's U-83kg overall with a total lift of 552.5kg.

A total of 250 powerlifters from 18 Asian countries took part in the tournament sanctioned by the Asian Powerlifting Federation (APF) and the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF).
Delighted by the success despite sending a small contingent of four athletes, Malaysian Association for Powerlifting (MAP) president Dayalan Jeevan said the powerlifters returned with medals, a great experience and exposure to further develop the sport in this country.
"We went into the championships as underdogs as it was our first international competition. Even our opponents did not know what to expect of us. Team Malaysia has proven that it is among the strongest in Asia.
"We will channel all our efforts towards developing our athletes for the World Championships next year, especially in the junior and sub-junior age class," he said in a statement, here today.
The 2018 World Classic Powerlifting Championships is scheduled in Calgary, Canada, in June. — Bernama