Fadhil Yunus
Brunei Darussalam weightlifter Mohammad Nashrul bin Haji Abu Bakar etched his name into the history books after earning his country qualification for the Commonwealth Games 2022 in weightlifting for the first time.
The Commonwealth Games is scheduled to be held from July 28 to August 8 in Birmingham, the United Kingdom.
The feat came following his gold medal success and a national record in the men’s under-61kg category in the Singapore Weightlifting International 2022 Commonwealth qualifier last month.
Mohammad Nashrul told the Sunday Bulletin, “The Singapore Weightlifting Internationals was my first ever overseas international competition representing Brunei.
“To be honest, the expectation coming into the competition was simply to come up with an official total and gain an international experience in the sport.
“Brunei had just reinstated their membership with the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) after being suspended from activity, so a part of the reason to join this competition was to also kickstart the federation’s participation under the IWF.”
Gaining qualification to the Commonwealth Games- a milestone for the country in the sport- came as a surprise to Mohammad Nashrul.
“We knew this competition was a qualifier for the Commonwealth Games, but we had no intention or whatsoever to qualify, given the level that I am against the rest of the competition field.”
To gain an official total, Mohammad Nashrul needed to successfully lift a weight in both the snatch and the clean and jerk.
“I made 212kg total with a weight of 96kg in Snatch and 116kg in Clean and Jerk,” he said.
With a top eight finish in the overall ranking list at the end of qualifying calendar making the cut, Mohammad Nashrul ensured his spot after finishing in seventh place.
Meanwhile, Vice President of Brunei Darussalam National Weightlifting Association (BDNWA) Hadi Dinie bin Abdul Rahman said, “Our federation has been established since 2019 to succeed the previous management.
“After overcoming a series of obstacles, Mohammad Nashrul sets a new Brunei record and made the country proud after becoming the first weightlifter to qualify for the Commonwealth Games.”
