Mr Malaysia 2016 Fong puts icing on beef cakes

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Mr Malaysia ‘Champion of Champions’ Fong joined by (standing, from left) Wee, Chia and other officials after the grand announcement.

Mr Malaysia ‘Champion of Champions’ Fong joined by (standing, from left) Wee, Chia and other officials after the grand announcement.

Fong (second right) with other ‘Champion of Champions’ contenders.

Fong (second right) with other ‘Champion of Champions’ contenders.

SIBU: Entrepreneur and fitness trainer Fong Hui Kong never imagined that his comeback could turn out to be so triumphant.

The 36-year-old local born muscleman clinched the ‘Champion of Champions’ title at the 47th Mr Malaysia bodybuilding championships in the final showdown of all winners of the nine senior categories here on Sunday night.

Fong, who topped the Lightweight category earlier in the competition, last made his appearance in the national tournament in 2013 held in Penang.

“My intention for the hiatus was for recovery — it was a very hectic year. As 2015 approached, I believed that I was ready for a comeback.

“However, my objective was to be worthy enough to place among the top five. Never would I have guessed that my return would be this awesome,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday during a special interview at Kingwood Hotel — venue of this year’s national championships.

In the months leading to this year’s national championships, Fong was also adjudged the best among all bodybuilders competing in both Mr Sibu and Mr Sarawak competitions.

“This triumph has not been my effort alone. I have my coach and mentor Mohd Ermi Dzulkifli to thank for. He has been instrumental in my transformation. Of course, the love and support from my family and girlfriend help a lot too,” he smiled.

Fong’s victory helped the Sarawak contingent to secure their third consecutive ‘Overall Champion Team’ honour — the only state in the nation to have ever performed this feat.

A beaming Sarawak Bodybuilding Association (SBBA) president Dato Wee Hong Seng was overjoyed that Sarawak exceeded their set target for the event.

“We were eyeing four gold medals and we achieved that. The ‘Champion of Champions’ and ‘Best Contingent’ honours are simply the icing on the cake,” he said.

More significantly, Wee hoped that Sarawak’s Mr Malaysia ‘hat-trick’ would open the eyes of state sports authorities to the true potential and capability of the state in bodybuilding.

“If by comparison to other sports, bodybuilding in Sarawak is still under-appreciated. We hope that with this three consecutive record win in Mr Malaysia, the SBBA could finally settle our longstanding issue — the takeover of the MSNS Gym at the civic centre.

“We need a centralised training centre for bodybuilding but, at the same time, this proposed move is to complement all the gyms that we have across the city; not to disrupt their business,” he stressed.

The 2017 Mr Malaysia championships will be hosted by Kuala Lumpur.

For the record, Kuching played host three times — 1974, 1983 and 1996 — while Miri hosted the 2005 event.