Strongman hopes for more support
Published on: Thursday, August 27, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: "If the State Government or in particular the ministry or any agencies in-charge of sports can come up with something to support me to excel in this sport, I will be more than ready to train even harder and to further pursue the sport that I love the most.""I can't see any reason why, we the Sabahan athletes cannot compete side by side with any other athletes from other countries, it is just a matter of commitment and hard and correct methods of training.""But commitment alone can never guarantee success in any sport, what more in this kind of strength demanding sport where it requires too many resources including training equipment, specialised nutrition, medical and physiotherapy attentions to name a few."
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Those are the words of hope and confidence by the 6'3", 131kg Andy Gerald Pudin fresh from winning the Labuan Strongestman Challenge (OKL 2015) last Sunday for the second time."I really hope that this sport can somehow catch the attention of our many sporting authorities and be awarded with some support for the development of this promising sport here in Sabah. Andy was also the champ for the first edition of the yearly Labuan Strongestman Challenge back in 2013. However, he did not compete the following year due to some personal commitments.
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The Penampang strongman had been due to compete in Badang Malaysia Strongman meet in Perak on Friday (Aug 28) under the invitation of Borneo Strongman Management but was forced to withdraw after he picked up injuries on his knees at the Labuan meet.When met on Wednesday, the 31-year-old telecommunication firm officer said, although he was quite upset to miss the meet as it is indeed a good opportunity to pursue his dream to be in the next level, he has no other alternative as it is impossible to recover in less than a week from injuries.
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Coming from a family with sporting background, Andy's father was a former State boxer and was the main individual behind his love of the sport."I think, it runs in the family, and my father was the one behind my success," said Andy who lifts weights regularly at a local gymnasium in Penampang."Every morning before I go to work, I will go for a jog. It is good for my stamina and to build my endurance. After all, my sport not only requires strength, as endurance is one of the keys to win in this kind of gruelling sport," Andy said."Back from the office in the evening, I will then go to the gym to hit some weights. That is my routine since I fell in love with the sport." Before this, Andy was also involved in athletics where he once represented Sabah in the shot putt event during the 2002 edition of Sukma and continued to be represent the State for the same event from 2008 to 2010.He was also part of the State's Tug of War team in action at the Sukan SeBorneo Brunei in 2013.For the record, the reigning world champion Lithuanian Zydrunas Savickas stands at 6'3" with around 180kg in weight. Better known as the 'Big Z', the 40-year-old giant was considered as the most accomplished competitor in the sport as he had won four world titles as well as nearly 30 titles in other major meets around the globe, including the prestigious Arnold Strongman Classic.Meanwhile, the other winners of the OKL 2015 were runner-up, Zarol Nizam from Selangor, Francis Abi (3rd – Keningau), Dato Ahmad Zaki Khan (4th – Selangor), Andoro Bandang (5th – Keningau), Affendy Matius (6th - Keningau), Mohd Hovveri (7th – Brunei), Rudy Melvin (8th – Klang), Mohd Hanis (9th – Brunei), and Mohd Fauzee Daud (10th – Labuan).The champ came home RM5,000 richer, while the runner-up to tenth place winner received RM3,000, RM1,500, RM1,000, RM700, RM500, RM400, RM300, RM200, RM100 respectively.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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