PETALING JAYA: Weightlifter Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim will be at a disadvantage when he competes in next month’s Beijing Olympics, according to his coach Lin Xin Hui.
The Chinese coach feels that had it not been for the two-year suspension, which Amirul was slapped with after testing positive for steroids in 2005, his weightlifter would have been a bright medal prospect for Malaysia at the Games.
As it stands, Xin Hui said Amirul’s two-year absence from competitive sport (2005-2007) had put the lifter at a great disadvantage in terms of preparations for the Olympics.
“If not for the ban, Amirul would have been in better shape and possibly be in the same class as some of the top lifters in his category (below 56kg) today,” said Xin Hui during a training session with Amirul at the National Sports Council (NSC) Sports Complex in Bukit Jalil.
“Weightlifting is a sport which requires long-term guidance and preparation. It is a gradual climb to the top and Amirul was on course to make it big in his weightlifting career when he was banned and it halted his progress,” said Xin Hui
“Although Amirul has made a comeback for more than a year now, he is still racing against time to regain his form. This is where Amirul will lose out to the better trained and conditioned weightlifters, who are far more well-prepared ahead of the Olympics.”
The coach also revealed that Amirul was troubled by a slight back injury problem during his six-week training stint in Hainan, China, recently.
“And it disrupted his preparations,” said Xin Hui.
“He was confined to doing light workouts as we did not want to aggravate the injury. This has also caused him to lose valuable time on his preparation.”
Amirul, meanwhile, feels that he has made tremendous progress under Xin Hui since making his return from the two-year suspension.
“I know where I stand compared to the rest of the field at the Olympics. It will be tough but I could steal a medal if our strategy works out well on competition day,” said Amirul, who returned from Hainan on Sunday.
The 27-year-old lifter from Kuala Rompin qualified for the Olympics after finishing fourth overall in the men’s below 56kg category at the Asian qualifying championships in Japan in May.
Amirul qualified under Category A after being ranked 12th in the world based on his achievement in Japan (the top 15 qualify under Category A).
Amirul bagged the silver in the snatch event in Japan and broke his own national record with a lift of 121kg – a 4kg improvement on his previous record set in Malacca in 2002.
In the clean and jerk, he finished fourth with a lift of 141kg. He also finished overall fourth with a total lift of 262kg.
Amirul, who bagged three gold medals at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, said he had always dreamt of competing in the Olympics.
“I am nervous, too. It is going to be in a tough field of about 19 competitors in my weight category. Although I am ranked number 12, I am hoping to finish in the top five at the Games,” said Amirul, who ranked the lifters from China, Indonesia and Turkey as the main contenders for the medals.
The Star
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