He not only created history as the first Paralympian to deliver a gold for the country in powerlifting at the Paralympic Games last August, the “Badang” – a man of great strength – once again stole the limelight when he was listed among the top male performers in 2021 by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) recently.

It began when the dwarf-sized athlete, who competed in the men’s 72kg category, smashed the world record with a lift of 230kg at the Fazza Dubai 2021 Para Powerlifting World Cup in the UAE en route to winning gold last June, thus erasing the previous mark of 229kg set by Iran’s Roohallah Rostami at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Para Games

Although the Sarawak-born was unable to break his own world record in Japan two months later, he produced another impressive show when he lifted 228kg in his third attempt to shatter the Games’ previous mark of 227kg set by Rasool Mohsin of Iraq at Rio 2016.

The 22-year-old then continued his domination at the World Para Powerlifting Championships at Tbilisi, Georgia, earlier this month, securing the world crown with a 210kg lift in the biennial tournament.

“Bonnie left school to focus on powerlifting at the age of 15 and his rise has been impressive,” according to IPC in the article, ‘The men who stole the show in 2021’.

Bonnie’s feats have also caught the attention of the Paralympic Council of Malaysia, who took to Facebook to congratulate him.

“Congratulations. Bonnie is one of the top male performers in 2021 as listed by IPC,” the council said on its page today.