Four new national records were created in the weightlifting discipline of the eighth Bangladesh Games when Faima Akhter Moyna, Shahria Sultana Suchi, Maria Akhter Simanto and Mainul Islam bettered the previous marks in their respective weight categories at the National Sports Council gymnasium on Saturday. In all, six new records were set in weightlifting. Hamidul Islam and Mollah Sabira Sultana had set two new records on the previous day.
Women’s 58kg category saw a new national record after Faima Akhter Moyna of Bangladesh Ansar totalled 158kg in the clean and press and snatch category to break her own record of 138kg set in last year’s national championship.
In the snatch category, Moyna lifted 68kg and in the clean and jerk category she lifted 90kg, while in the women’s 63kg weight category Moyna’s team-mate Shahria Sultana Suchi also broke her own record by lifting an overall 160kg when her previous record was 138kg.
Moyna and Suchi’s battles were against themselves as they were the undisputed champions in their respective weight categories.
Moyna, who represented Bangladesh in the Delhi Commonwealth Games, was happy with her record-making performance.
`I was confident of breaking the previous record and finally I did it,’ said Moyna proudly.
It was a superb comeback for Suchi, who had given up the sport to look after her child. Suchi also acted as a chief judge in different tournaments.
`It was not possible to play as I had to take care of my child, but now I returned to sports with the Bangladesh Games and I want to continue playing for some time,’ said Suchi.
Maria Akhter of Bangladesh Ansar rewrote the record books by lifting an overall 139kg in the 53kg weight category while BJMC’s Rimu Akhter and Nazma Akhter of Narail were second and third respectively.
In the men’s 85kg category, Mainul Islam of Bangladesh Army broke the previous record of Sajedur Rahman, who lifted 145kg in the clean and jerk category in 2002. Mainul lifted 146kg in the clean and jerk category to ensure the gold medal. He lifted an overall 260kg. Azizur Rahman and Aminul Islam of Rajshahi won silver and bronze respectively.
Meanwhile, in the 94 kg category, Bangladesh Army’s Abdullah Al Momin won gold but was disappointed for failing to set a new record as the Bangladesh Weightlifting Federation officials did not inform him about the record in this category.
`I did not have any target to set the record, I could have lifted accordingly if I knew the previous record,’ said a disappointed Momin.
-With New Age input
