KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (PABM) has appointed national coach Edmund Yeo on a permanent basis after their request was approved by the National Sports Council (NSC).
Edmund was previously serving as a temporary national coach after he was loaned from the Sarawak State Sports Council. His term ended in August, shortly after guiding Aniq Kasdan at the Paris Olympics, which required him to return to Sarawak.
With Edmund now on board full-time, the association is optimistic that the 48-year-old coach can help elevate the athletes further, driving them to success.
Edmund’s challenge for 2025 will be to secure at least one gold medal at the SEA Games in Thailand, scheduled for December next year.
PABM Vice President Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim said that this is no small task, considering Malaysia’s weightlifting squad has endured a 19-year gold medal drought at the SEA Games.
The last triumph came in the 2005 edition in the Philippines when Che Mod Azrol Che Mat claimed gold in the 105kg category.
“According to the KPI (Key Performance Indicators) we’ve set, we aim to secure at least one gold medal at the upcoming SEA Games, something we’ve been waiting for a long time. The last time we won a gold medal was in 2005, and since then, we’ve been without one.
“We hope that with Edmund’s expertise, he can help us achieve our dream of winning that gold medal,” he added.
For the record, Aniq and Aznil Bidin did not compete at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games as their schedules clashed with the Olympic qualification tournament for the Paris Games.
Fortunately, Nur Syazwani Radzi came to the rescue of the national weightlifting team, securing the only bronze medal for Malaysia in the women’s 64kg event in Phnom Penh.
Meanwhile, Edmund’s track record includes guiding Aniq to come close to winning a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, missing out by just one kilogram in the under-61kg category while setting a new national record with a lift of 297kg.
“We have had discussions with the Sarawak State Sports Council and the Sarawak Weightlifting Association, and we’ve noticed that Aniq is very comfortable under Edmund’s guidance. In fact, Aznil and Erry (Hidayat) have also shown improvement under his coaching.
“Therefore, we are very keen to retain him (Edmund) in our programme. Based on discussions with all parties involved, there are no issues, as they understand our desire to have Edmund represent the nation. As a result, they are ready to release Edmund to us,” said Amirul after attending the Working Committee Meeting at the NSC Bukit Jalil today. – November 26, 2024