Commonwealth Games heroes return to rapturous welcome

SEPANG: A line-up of national heroes who made Malaysia famous at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games returned to a rapturous welcome at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) here today.

Their arrival, which included the three gold medal winners - weightlifters Mohamad Aniq Kasdan and Muhamad Aznil Bidin and powerlifting para champion Bonnie Bunyau Gustin - was greeted by family members, fans and sports associations with bouquets of flowers and thunderous applause.

The crowd also cheered weightlifter Muhammad Erry Hidayat, who won silver; judoka Amir Daniel Abdul Majeed, who won bronze; and several other athletes.

Also present was Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) president Datuk Ayub Rahmat.

For the record, Mohamad Aniq and Muhamad Aznil contributed the first two golds for the national contingent in Birmingham through the men's 55kg and 61kg categories respectively while powerlifter Bonnie delivered the fourth gold in the men's lightweight below 72kg category.

Muhammad Erry won silver in the men's 73kg category while judoka Amir Daniel won bronze in the men's 73kg event.

-- BERNAMA