Remember this name, Matthew Yap
This 17-year-old Republic Polytechnic student sent shockwaves in the powerlifting world.
The Singaporean powerlifter set a new squat world record in the Under-66kg sub-junior category on Sunday (Jun 18).
The 18-year-old hit 208 kilogrammes in his final attempt at the World Classic Powerlifting Championships in Minsk, Belarus.
This annual powerlifting meet typically runs over ten days, and comprises competitions for both genders, in various weight and age categories.
He cleared 190kg on his first try but opted to skip his second attempt due to a cramp.
On his third attempt, Yap managed to overtake Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Chebanov on the leaderboard with his world-record lift, earning the Singaporean the gold medal.
The win adds to Yap’s silver medals in the bench press as well as his overall standing in the competition, which ends this weekend.
This is Yap’s final year in Sub-Junior division as he will be moving up to the Junior division from Jan. 1, 2018, onwards when he gets a year older.
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