An all-smiling Malvern, seen with his medal and trophy backstage.
KUCHING (July 18): Dr Malvern Abdullah’s feat of bagging the silver medal in the Men’s Masters (Age 40-49 – Up to 80kg) category marked an encouraging start for Team Malaysia at the 54th Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships in Maldives.
The 47-year-old lecturer placed behind India’s Subhash Pujari, but was ahead of Vietnam’s Nguyen Van Quang during the encounter that took place at the republic’s Maafushi Island, late Sunday.
Malvern’s next events will be the Men’s Bodybuilding Flyweight (Up to 60kg) and Mixed Pairs where he will be partnering with fellow Sarawakian, Philomena Dexclyn Siar.
The other Sarawakians out to bolster the national team’s medal target in Maldives are SEA Games 2022 silver medallists Azri Asmat Sefri and Buda Anchah, who will compete in the Light Flyweight (Up to 55kg) and Bantamweight (Up to 65kg) categories, respectively.
Buda will also be up for the Masters (Age 50-60 – Up to 80kg) category, together with national team-mates Syed Faizal Syed Ali and Wong Ngai Hoeng.
The Malaysia line-up for this year’s Asian bodybuilding championship also comprises Mohd Syarul Azman Mahen Abdullah, Amin Rasuad Sidek, Ahmad Faiz Ariffin, Zmarul Al Adam Pulutan Abdullah, Zainal Ariff Zainal Ariffin and the other woman athlete, Shelen Aderina Kok.
Organised by the Bodybuilding Association of Maldives under the auspices of the Asian Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships, and sanctioned by the World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championships, the championships officially kicked off last Saturday and will run until this July 21.
For this 54th edition, the organiser is hosting over 400 athletes and officials from 24 countries across the Asian continent.