National weightlifting champion, Hafifi Mansor is hoping that the seven-week ‘torture’ he have to endure in Foshan, China will be fruitful for his Olympic quest in Rio.
The 25-year-old will compete in the 69kg category, after securing a spot to Rio from a team event in Uzbekistan, making this his first appearance in the prestigious sporting event.
“I still have a week’s worth of training to be done here. It is hard to describe the heavy training here, but whatever it is, I am ready for Rio.
“It’s hard to predict what is going to happen during the competition as there are other world class weightlifters who will be taking part, but I’ll definitely try my best,” said Hafifi, as quoted by Harian Metro.
The Malaysia Weightlifting Federation (PABM) has set a target for the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist to be among the top 8 in the competition.
“I hope I can break my own national record, which is 325kg,” he added.
Hafifi will be the nation’s first weightlifting representative in the Olympics since Beijing 2008, when Amirul Hamizan Ibrahim took part in the 56kg category, finishing 8th in overall.
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