KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian powerlifting star Bonnie Bunyau Gustin won the country’s second gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games after topping the men’s 72kg category at the Nagoya City Trade & Industry Center today.
The victory also saw the 27-year-old from Serian, Sarawak, defend the gold medal he won at the 2022 edition in Hangzhou, China.
Bonnie opened the competition with a 216kg lift before improving to 225kg in his second attempt. However, he failed to complete his final attempt at 231kg, leaving 225kg as his best lift.
China’s Zhang Pingkang claimed silver with a best lift of 212kg, while Iran’s Mohsen Bakhtiar took bronze with 208kg.
A two-time Paralympic champion, Bonnie entered the final as the world record holder at 232kg, Asian record holder at 231kg and Asian Para Games record holder at 230kg.
The triumph also provided a boost following his disappointment at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last July, where he settled for bronze in the men’s lightweight category instead of defending his title.
Malaysia’s first gold medal at the Games came from para track cyclist Zuhairie Ahmad Tarmizi, who won the men’s C4-C5 1,000m time trial.
-AWANI
