THE Malaysian Weightlifting Federation (MWF) is keen on hiring former Indonesia elite coach Lukman on a permanent basis.
MWF deputy president Ahmad Janius Abdullah said Lukman has been roped in temporarily to prepare the men’s elite lifters for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games which starts next month.
Lukman, who coached countryman Triyanto to a silver medal in the men’s under-69 kilogramme class at the London Olympics, had resigned from his position with the Indonesian federation last month.
“At the moment he (Lukman) is helping out with our preparations and is with our athletes who are training in Indonesia but he has also been here to train them as well,” said Ahmad Janius.
“The reason we chose him is because of his past performances and also his reputation. There is no doubt he is a quality coach.
“He would be a good addition to our coaching setup should he join us full time but we will have to work out a number of details for that to happen.
“If he does, it is likely we will place him in charge of the men’s elite squad while Wang Zhi Quan will coach the women’s elite team.”
Ahmad Janius added that national assistant coach Faizal Baharom (under-56kg), who is a surprise inclusion for the Glasgow squad, will be allowed to focus on competing with Lukman set to guide the team until the end of the games.
Faizal, a gold medallist in 2006, will be joined in Glasgow by Constantine Clement (under-62kg) and Mohd Hafifi Mansor (under-69kg) for the men’s competition.
National elite lifters have been training in Balikpapan (men) and Bandung (women) since last year. By Fadhli Ishak
