BIRMINGHAM: Malaysia had never won any judo medal in Commonwealth Games history and the prospect of a medal here was far from the minds of many.
But judoka Amir Daniel Abdul Majeed threw a surprise by creating history in winning Malaysia's first ever medal in the sport yesterday.
The Sea Games bronze medallist bagged a bronze in the 73kg category after his opponent from Cyprus, Dato Matsoukatov, was disqualified at the Coventry Arena.
Amir's success brought Malaysia's medal haul at the Games to seven: two gold, two silver and three bronze.
National judo coach Md Nashriq Md Nasir was delighted with Amir's performance.
"We are grateful for this success. Though we won this bronze after our opponent was disqualified, it remains a proud achievement.
"It shows that all the efforts and hard work that Amir has put in is worth it."
In the last 16, Amir beat Samoa's William Tai Tin 10-0. However in the quarter-finals, he lost to Australian Jake Bensted through a penalty.
But Amir bounced back in the repechage round by defeating Narciso Mozana of Mozambique 10-0 to advance to the bronze medal decider against Matsoukatov.