Malaysian Weightlifter Hafifi, Jannah To Compete In Commonwealth Championship

GEORGE TOWN (Penang, Malaysia), Oct 15 (Bernama) -- The sole Malaysian weightlifter at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medal winner, Mohd Hafifi Mansor, 25, and women's weightlifter Nur Jannah Batrisyah Abdullah, 26, will be competing in the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship here this month. The Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship and the Youth World Weightlifting Championship that will also kick off here before the former, will see more than 1,000 participants from 90 countries taking part. International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) vice president, Datuk Ong Poh Eng said that these championships will be the biggest held in Malaysia and that the Commonwealth championship is the first qualifier for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2019. "We are hoping to see some world records especially in the youth games and so far, we have received participation from 55 countries (for the youth championship)," he told a press conference here Saturday. Seven women and eight men categories will be competed in the championships. The youth championship will be held at Spice Arena, Penang from Oct 20 to 25 while the Commonwealth championships at the same venue from Oct 26 to 29. -- BERNAMA