Syarul (standing, centre), flanked by Tan and Malvern, shares his joy with the rest of the Malaysian contingent at the end of the world championships in Pattaya.
KUCHING: Mohd Syarul Azman Mike Mahen Abdullah has capped off Malaysia’s challenge with another gold medal at this year’s Eighth WBPF World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships in Pattaya, Thailand.
The 43-year-old gym instructor came out tops in the Men’s Athletic Physique (Up to 170cm) category during the final at Ambassador City Jomtien Hotel yesterday.
Syarul’s feat came after that by Lilian Tan at the Women’s Bodybuilding Over-55kg final last Friday, where she clinched the gold medal, leaving defender Dinh Kim Loan of Vietnam and Michele Steenhaut of Belgium at respective second and third places.
With the win, Lilian can now pride herself as being the only Asian to have claimed the world’s women bodybuilding championship title three times – she got her first gold medal during the Bangkok outing in 2012, and another during the Mumbai (India) event in 2014.
For Syarul, the victory was the ‘icing on the cake’ for this year, having achieved a tremendous feat at the Asian championships in Bhutan in September where he won the same category title.
The tally for Malaysia at the Pattaya outing also included a bronze medal contributed by Sarawakian bodybuilder Dr Malvern Abdullah, who competed in the Flyweight challenge against contenders from Vietnam, Thailand, India and Myanmar.
“On behalf of the Malaysian team in Pattaya, we extend our pride and appreciation to all those who have been supporting us all the way. I’m truly happy for both Lilian and Mike (Syarul).
“As for myself, the bronze medal is an accomplishment, in view that I had to shed five kilogrammes in only 24 hours to qualify for the category. I have tried my best and I assure you that I would strive harder next year,” Malvern told The Borneo Post via phone yesterday.
Muhd Roszaimi Abdul Rani and Meilaura Dora Jimmy placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the Men’s Bantamweight and Women’s Bodybuilding (Up to 55kg), respectively.
Three other Malaysians – Ari Chandra, Abu Mansur Al-Mathuridi Azahari and Ahmad Faiz Ariffin – failed to make it to the finals of their respective categories.