Heavy task: Aniq Kasdan clearing 130kg in the snatch in the men’s 61kg. — OCM
HE came within a whisker of a medal in the 61kg event on Wednesday, missing out on the bronze medal by just 1kg. But weightlifter Aniq Kasdan will not be beaten.
Instead, the near-miss has only fuelled his desire to become an Olympics champion.
Even in his debut, the 22-year-old was mentally strong to take a huge gamble, raising his lift from 167kg to 174kg in the clean and jerk, which saw him come very close to the medal at the South Paris Arena.
Aniq showed himself to be the man of the future for Malaysia although he finished just 1kg behind bronze winner Hampton Morris of the United States.
China’s Li Fabin defended his gold with a total lift of 310kg (143kg in snatch and 167kg in the clean and jerk) while Theerapong Silachai took silver with 303kg total (132kg in snatch and 171kg in clean and jerk).
Morris managed 298kg (126kg snatch and 172kg C&J) while Aniq settled for fourth spot with 297kg total (130kg snatch and 167kg C&J).
The drama unfolded in the clean and jerk when Aniq bravely launched a two-pronged attack on Theerapong and Morris to push for a historic medal – a silver at that.
After doing 130kg in the snatch, Aniq cleared 167kg in his first attempt in clean and jerk but was forced to increase his next lift to 174kg after Theerapong cleared 172kg.
Aniq’s increase, four kg higher than his national record of 170kg, shook Morris who failed in his attempt to clear 168kg but the American also increased his next lift to 172kg.
While Morris, who holds the world record at 176kg, cleared 172kg in his third attempt, Aniq tried valiantly but failed to clear 174kg in the remaining two attempts to miss out on a medal.
Aniq was massively disappointed but the Segamat strongman has announced that he will be back for 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“It’s very frustrating to miss out on a medal but I will keep working hard and continue my progress. I want to become Olympic champion,” said Aniq.
“During the clean and jerk, I discussed with coach Edmund and Amirul and took the gamble to go for 174kg. If I had cleared that, I could have won a silver medal.
“I wanted to do this for Malaysians but I was sad (after the failure) as it was a stepping stone to my future. I really wanted to put Malaysian weightlifting on the world map.
“After this, I have to keep training hard and improve my scores to start winning more honours on the world stage to be prepared well for the LA28.
Aniq will have some consolation in that he managed to break the national snatch record of 129kg set by Aznil Bidin at the World Championships in Riyadh last year.
Aniq also bettered his own record of 296kg total that he created in the IWF Grand Prix in Doha last year with his fourth placing total (297kg) in Paris.
South-East Asian legend Eko Yuli Irawan, who has two silvers and two bronze medals to his collection at the Olympics, suffered an injury after lifting 135kg in snatch and did not register a lift in the clean and jerk.
With the 35-year-old Eko likely to retire soon, Aniq and the 20-year-old Theerapong are likely to be the new faces of South-East Asian men’s weightlifting.
