Malaysia’s first male powerlifting athlete won four silver medals at the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championship 2022.
The 2022 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) Commonwealth Championships in Auckland, New Zealand saw Malaysian Kenneth Kaden Chin Yu Wai scoring a whooping four silver medals in the U-59kg Open Weight Category division for Squat, Bench Press, Deadlift and Overall Placing.
Kenneth, 32, set a record for being the first and only Malaysian silver medallist competing at the IPF Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships 2022 along with over 300 athletes from a total of 13 countries.
Powerlifting is a sport with three lift attempts: back squat, bench press and deadlifts. Competitive powerlifters work towards increasing the maximum weight they lift for each attempt.
Commenting on being the only national athlete participating in the sport’s largest event in New Zealand history, Kenneth admittedly said:
“I am very happy with these achievements. However, powerlifting as a sport requires more support and exposure in Malaysia. It is not one of those major sports that has been given the attention it deserves.”
Despite his big sweep achievements, Kenneth shared that the road to partaking in these international championships is far from smooth sailing.
“I feel that, unfortunately, we (the national powerlifting athletes) do not have adequate support from our Youth and Sports Ministry. We faced major setbacks and are often left to our own devices to promote and grow this sport, especially in raising funds to participate in international events such as this for us to represent our country.”
Since its inception in 2016, the Malaysian Association of Powerlifting (MAP) has been an exceptional platform for Malaysians to showcase their performance and grow their interest in this sport.
However, with no availability of official funding allocations, the Malaysian national powerlifting team will have a tougher time to further grow this sport.
Asked about his plans and aspirations after this big win, Kenneth said: “We have a strong team of international calibre athletes that is waiting to be given the opportunity to shine. So, our biggest hope now is for our newly appointed Youth & Sports Minister YB Hannah Yeoh to give us the help we need. As a form of acknowledgement to our success as the bearer of nation’s flag competing and winning in world stages.”
