Powerlifting the sport to greater heights
With intentions of growing the sport, Powerlifting Singapore hosted the National Bench Press Championships and Asian Qualifiers at the Singapore Sports Hub over the weekend.
Dozens of participants took part in the second edition of the event over two days.
To celebrate Singapore's 52nd National Day, the sports body encouraged the public to try powerlifting to collectively surpass 52,000kg.
Victor Chan was one of those who participated in the cumulative bench press.
The 65-year-old managed to lift 1,150kg with five reps of 50kg, 10 reps of 20kg, 30kg and 40kg to prove that powerlifting is for all ages.
Yesterday's men's bench press also saw Jerome Tan lift 140kg to pip sub-junior world record holder in the Under-66kg squat Matthew Yap for the Under-74kg category gold medal.
Muhd Hidayat Osman benched 115kg to clinch bronze.
The 25-year-old was delighted with his win as he had not competed since March due to an injury.
The SIM University student told The New Paper: "This is my first competition in a while, so I'm definitely happy to win.
"I saw the competitor list and was quite confident in placing at least third.
"I played safe but I could have lifted more. I hope to compete on the world stage in the future."
Matthew, 17, broke the sub-junior world record in the Under-66kg squat with 208kg, set in June's World Classic Powerlifting Championships in Minsk, Belarus.
Yesterday, he lifted 133kg for a personal best in the bench press to finish second.
Describing yesterday's event as a "friendly meet", the Republic Polytechnic student was adamant his goal was breaking his personal best and to make the local scene more vibrant.
He said: "I'm aiming to break my squat record and finish on the podium for the bench at the Asian Classic Powerlifting Championships in December.
"I'm glad that powerlifting is growing (in Singapore).
"The community is coming together and supporting each other.
"I feel really encouraged. My achievements are one thing, but I hope that, with these events, local powerlifting will have more awareness and eventually become a nationally recognised association."
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