Aniq wary of new threats following weight class revision
KUALA LUMPUR: National weightlifter Aniq Kasdan is expecting to face a new set of rivals when he begins competing in the new under-60 kilogramme weight class later this year.
Aniq previously competed in the under-61kg category and did well to finish fourth at the Paris Olympics last year.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) has, however, conducted a revision of weight classes in the sport which will come into effect on June 1.
Aniq's under-61kg class has been replaced with an under-60kg category while the under-55kg class has been removed completely.
"I am sure there will be new contenders in this under-60kg class because it is now the smallest weight class available," said Aniq recently.
"Those who previously competed in the under-55kg class will definitely move up to under-60kg.
"I can roughly guess which nations will be dangerous in this new under-60kg division. China will obviously be strong and so will North Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines.
"We will have to wait until the World Championships in Norway (Oct 2-11) to get a clearer picture. By then we can start to crunch the numbers and get a clearer picture of what we need to finish in the top-four (in global competitions).
"It is tricky because it appears like they (IWF) are making changes to the weight classes every two Olympic cycles, so we have to be ready to adjust."
Aniq had previously competed in the under-55kg class and won silver (clean and jerk) at the 2021 World Championships and gold at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games in the division.
He stepped up to the under-61kg class in 2023 and won bronze (clean and jerk) at the World Championships that year and two silvers (clean and jerk, overall) at the world meet last year.
The Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in India (Aug 24-30) will be Aniq's first competition in the under-60kg class.
The meet will also serve as a qualifying event for the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
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