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Power show by Bonnie at World Cup in Bangkok

KUALA LUMPUR: Powerlifter Bonnie Bunyau Gustin is on the right track for the Tokyo Paralympics after emerging victorious in the World Para Powerlifting World Cup in Bangkok today.

The 20-year-old Kuching-born Bonnie lifted 226kg to bag gold in the men's above 72kg category, an improvement from his previous best of 207kg lift en route to winning two gold medals at the 2019 World Para Powerlifting Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

Iran's Nader Moradi, the 2012 London Paralympics champion, took silver with a 204kg lift while Alexandr Daskov of Kazakhstan finished third (140kg) in the meet, which was streamed live on the World Para Powerlifting's official Facebook page.

National coach Jamil Adam, when contacted in Bangkok, said that Bonnie was making encouraging progress ahead of the Tokyo Paralympics, scheduled to begin on Aug 24.

"Based on his performance, he has obviously shown encouraging improvement compared to previous tournaments. He is currently ranked number one in the world in the 72kg category in the Tokyo ranking. However, the final ranking for Tokyo will be updated after the 11th Fazza Dubai 2021 Para Powerlifting World Cup next month," he said.

The Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM), through their Facebook page, also congratulated Bonnie on his latest feat.

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