KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 — National powerlifting champion, Bonnie Bunyau Gustin is determined to bring home the gold medal in his second Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England from July 28 to August 8.
After only managing a bronze at the Gold Coast edition in 2018, nothing less than being on top of the podium will do this time around, he said.
“I am not too concerned about my scores, what’s important is I go all out for the gold medal in Birmingham,” he told Bernama.
On his selection as the national contingent’s flag bearer in the Games, the pint-sized athlete from Sarawak said that while it came as a shock initially, that role now serves as the perfect motivation to rock the National Exhibition Centre, the event venue, with hopefully a gold-winning performance.
Bonnie will be teaming up with national women's squash player Aifa Azman as Malaysia’s flag bearers at the Games.
Aifa had replaced S Sivasangari after her fellow squash teammate met with a road accident last month.
Bonnie, meanwhile, was optimistic that the minor injury to his left shoulder will not bother him too much in Birmingham.
On fellow national powerlifter Jong Yie Khie’s decision to withdraw from the Games, Bonnie admitted that he will truly feel his absence.
“This time around, I am going to be the only powerlifter in the (national) camp, so it’s going to be pretty lonely as I am used to always having him and the coach around during meets,” he said.
The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) last Friday said that Yee Khie, who won the silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, had to pull out of the national contingent after suffering an injury during a training session recently.
The national contingent to the Birmingham Commonwealth Games includes 105 athletes who will be participating in 14 sports including four para-sports.
— Bernama
