THE Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) believes that back-up lifter Constantine Clement will rise to the occasion on his debut at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games on July 23-Aug 3.
With 2010 gold medallist Aricco Jumitih out of the picture, Constantine has emerged as the nation’s best bet in the men’s Under-62kg class, having racked up impressive performances this season.
The Sabahan finished third at the Asian Junior Championships in Thailand in March having lifted 120kg in the snatch and 150kg in the clean and jerk, subsequently qualifying for the Commonwealth squad.
He then broke the national snatch record of 126kg previously set by Naharuddin Mahayudin when he lifted 127kg at the Perlis Malaysia Games last month. His clean and jerk effort of 143kg was sub-par by his standards but was nevertheless enough to give him a double win against a relatively inexperienced field in Kuala Perlis.
MWF deputy president Ahmad Janius Abdullah said he is confident Constantine will end up with a medal in Scotland but stressed that he needs to improve on his clean and jerk to make it a gold.
“Compared to his performances this season to results from the past Commonwealth Games, winning a medal should not be a problem for Constantine,” said Ahmad Janius.
“But as the competition only offers one gold medal per weight division, it is important that he is strong in both disciplines as the scores from both disciplines will be combined.
“At the moment his clean and jerk is not among the best in this class. He needs to be consistently hitting the mid-150kg mark to secure a gold. However, I believe he can still get there before the games.”
Aricco, who has been suffering from a severe case of psoriasis since late 2011, had lifted 120kg and 156kg for a 276kg total to emerge victorious in Delhi.
Besides Constantine, 2006 gold medallist Faizal Baharom (Under-56kg) and 2010 bronze medallist Mohd Hafifi Mansor (Under-69kg) are the nation’s best hope for medals in Scotland.
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