KUALA LUMPUR: Aniq Kasdan etched his name into the history books by becoming the first Malaysian to win a medal at the World Weightlifting Championships in Uzbekistan on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old's 142kg effort clinched him the silver medal in the men's Under-55kg clean-and-jerk discipline in Tashkent.
Bulgarian Angel Rusev took the gold on 144kg while Kazakhstan's Arli Chontey settled for bronze despite also lifting 142kg as he had attempted it after Aniq.
But Chontey, who managed 118kg for the snatch, took the overall gold in the class with a combined 260kg. Thailand's Thada Somboonuan came in second on 256kg while Rusev was third (254kg).
Aniq, who lifted 107kg in the snatch, came in fifth on a combined 249kg, which also erased the national record of 248kg held by Azroy Hazalwafie Izhar Ahmad.
The World Championships is doubling up as the Commonwealth Championships, a qualifier for next year's Commonwealth Games.
Aniq, as the highest-ranked Commonwealth lifter in the overall standings, secured the Commonwealth Championships Under-55kg class title.
Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) president Datuk Ayub Rahmat said: "This is Malaysia's best ever performance in the history of the World Championships."
Aznil Bidin (Under-61kg) and Erry Hidayat (Under-73kg) are also competing in Tashkent. The competition ends on Dec 17.
Aniq's success comes as a timely boost for Malaysian weightlifting, haunted by doping issues in recent years.
The most recent positive case occurred during the National Championships in Kuala Rompin, Pahang in October.