Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
NATIONAL weightlifter Nashrul Hj Abu Bakar had the perfect return from injury.
He managed a perfect lift at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2024 in Fiji on Tuesday to set a new national record in the men's under-61kg category.
Nashrul was successful in all his attempts to finish with a combined total of 233kg in Suva.
He managed 103kg in the snatch event and followed that up with a lift of 133kg in the clean & jerk to put him in tied-fifth out of 10 contestants.
The result beats his previous best of 227kg set at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
It was a difficult time for Nashrul having torn his meniscus in his left knee in April.
He was forced out for three months and to work on full range knee flexion movements and training around it.
Along the way he developed an SI joint pain around a month before Fiji resulting in multiple physio appointments at SMRC and other places.
Nashrul was close to throwing in the towel but was delighted he persevered to proceed with it.
"I didn't really feel like I had a proper preparation but I was able to manage the pain and train accordingly," said Nashrul in an interview with BruSports News on Thursday.
"I was very close to withdrawing actually. I only managed 100kg in training ever since I tore my knee," he added.
"I guess your preparation doesn't always tell you the actual outcome and this is my first perfect meet as a 61," continued the 29-year-old.
In addition, his spouse Liyana Sidek also managed a new national record in the women's U-55kg category.
She tallied a total of 131kg (58kg in snatch and 73kg in clean & jerk) to beat her best by 1kg set at the IWF World Cup 2024 in Phuket in April.
They now look forward to the World Weightlifting Championships to be contested in Bahrain in December.
