Commonwealth Games: Mohd Zulhelmi lands Malaysia's first medal

National back-up weightlifter Mohd Zulhelmi Pisol sprang a surprise by becoming the first medal winner for Malaysia at the 20th Commonwealth Games here Thursday.

The 21-year-old who hails from Penang won a silver in the men's 56kg category with a total lift of 245kg at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre Precint here.

He lifted 108kg in the snatch and 137kg in the clean and jerk. India's Sukhen Dey and Ganesh Mali won the gold and bronze respectively.

Sukhen lifted a total of 248kg - 109kg in the snatch and 139kg in the clean and jerk while Ganesh's total score was 244kg (111kg in the snatch and 133kg in the clean and jerk).

Mohd Zulhelmi, when approached by reporters, said he was very excited to clinch the silver in his Commonwealth Games debut.

"I am still new at a competition at this level, so I expected a tough fight from the seniors.

"However, I am still not satisfied with my clean and jerk performance because I had lifted 140kg in training," he said.

Meanwhile, Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin was full of praise for Mohd Zulhelmi who he said "took the fight to the more experienced weightlifters".

"Initially he lagged behind, but he showed grit and rose up to win the first medal for Malaysia. I have the faith the other weightlifters will be able to win gold in the upcoming events," said Khairy.