Wong wants medal lift at Commonwealth Games

SINGAPORE — Just over a year ago, national weightlifter Scott Wong saw his debut at the 2014 Commonwealth Games ending in disappointment, as he failed all three 165kg clean-and-jerk attempts after suffering cramps in his abdominal muscles. He eventually finished 12th among the 12-strong field at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre.

Despite the setback, Wong is now targeting a podium finish at the next edition of the Games in 2018.

And the 24-year-old’s medal dream has been handed a boost after a record-breaking weekend that saw him set three new national records — pending ratification by the Singapore Weightlifting Federation (SWF) — at the Victorian Weightlifting Association (VWA) Open in Melbourne.

Having dropped 15kg to compete in the 105kg category — he previously contested in the above-105kg weight class — Wong lifted a total of 288kg (133kg snatch, 155kg clean-and-jerk) to finish second in the event. The previous official national records listed on SWF’s website of 195kg (85kg snatch, 110kg clean-and-jerk) were set by Teow Wei Xuan at the Singapore Open in 2011.

Wong has been working with Australian national weightlifting coach and former Olympic silver medallist Yurik Sarkisyan since December, and is confident the partnership will reap rewards at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in three years’ time.

At the 2014 edition in Scotland, David Katoatau of Kitibati claimed the gold with a total of 348kg, while New Zealand’s Stanislav Chalaev (341kg) and Ben Watson of England (337kg) clinched the silver and bronze respectively.

“Looking at my recent results and my development so far, a top-three placing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games is definitely possible,” said former discus thrower Wong, who will need to lift 312kg to qualify for the Games.

“I’ve been training with Yurik via video calls and it’s only in the past two weeks that I have managed to meet him personally in Melbourne to train and since then, the progress I have made has been explosive, although I know there is still much work to be done.”

The last Singaporean weightlifter to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games was Teo Yong Joo, who clinched a bronze in the Bantamweight — Overall category at the 1986 edition of the Games.

Wong, a medical student at the University of Manchester, is hoping to train full-time with Sarkisyan in Melbourne in 2017, a year before the Gold Coast Games.

Sarkisyan believes Wong will only be able to reach his full potential then. “The problem is that I have to train him by video calls and I won’t be able to see a clear picture,” said Sarkisyan, 54. “He’s a hard worker, has good discipline, and the natural body size and strength.

“Another problem is that he is also studying, which takes up a lot of his time. But he stands a very good chance of winning a medal at the Commonwealth Games, especially if he has one year of hard training before that.”

Added SWF president Tom Liaw: “We’ll give him whatever support we can within our capability. But that is also subject to the support from Sport Singapore, and we’ll have to see how we can increase overall funding for our sport as well. But there is potential in Wong and barring any injuries, he will definitely do well at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.”