Sabah strongman for Singapore Open

Kota Kinabalu: Sabah strongman Andy Gerald Pudin is making his international debut at the Singapore Open Strongestman Challenge on Oct 24.This was confirmed via an invitation letter from the Malaysian Strongman Association to invite him in representing the country for the open category.

Prior to that, Andy will make his appearance at the Penang Strongestman Challenge on Oct 10.

As such, Andy will go for centralised training from Oct 9-25 at the Selangor Strongman Training Centre in Kajang.

The selection was done based on Andy's recent performance after he emerged victorious in the third edition of the Labuan Strongestman Challenge in August. Andy was also the winner of its first edition but opted not to compete in the second due to personal commitments.

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When met on Wednesday, the 6' 3", 131kg Andy was happy with the invitation as it will be another step forward to excel in the sport.

"Although I will be going there on my own expenses, I don't mind because of my love and passion for the sport.

"I will appreciate if our sports authorities can give some kind of recognition like other athletes so that I can be seen as an athlete representing the State or the country, rather than an individual who is there to compete on my own accord," he said.

Andy thanked the Ministry of Youth and Sports for their support in getting unrecorded leave from his employer to take part in the events.

Strongman challenge is a strength and endurance sport where participants are required to perform a variety of discipline such as the Farmer's Walk, Car Deadlift, Log Press, Hercules Hold, Truck Pull, Yoke Walk, Giant Dumbell Press and the sport's signature event of Atlas' Stones.

The reigning world champion is Lithuanian Zydrunaz Savickas who stands at 6'3" with 180kg in weight, where according to experts is arguably among the most ideal physical build-up for the sport.

Popularly known as the 'Big Z' among the strong athletes community, the 40-year-old smiling giant was considered the most accomplished competitor of all time as he had won four world titles besides nearly 30 other major titles, including the prestigious Arnold Strongman Classic.

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The sports was introduced for the first time in Sabah back in 2010 by local promoters and it had been staged yearly since where the Labuan meet was considered as the main event.

Since then more and more strength athletes are joining the fray and judging from his age, Andy's recent performance and physicality, was seen by many as a hopeful to the future of the sport in the country.

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