What was more impressive was that the Sarawakian, who was born in Serian, also broke the Games record of 227kg set by Rasool Mohsin from Iraq at the Rio 2016 Paralympics when he lifted 228kg in his third attempt on the first day of the sport.

However, Bonnie did not better his own world record of 230kg set at the 11th Fazza Dubai Powerlifting World Cup in the UAE last June. He could not clear 231kg in his fourth attempt.

The silver medal was won by Egyptian athlete Mahmoud Attia while bronze went to Micky Yule of Britain.

Bonnie started brilliantly with a first lift of 217kg and continued to maintain an exceptional performance, lifting 225kg in the second attempt before completing the third in style to break the Paralympics record.

Mahmoud confirmed the silver for himself after doing his best lift of 191kg in his third attempt while Micky grabbed the bronze after lifting 182kg, also in his third attempt.

Bonnie’s success also marked another milestone in Malaysia’s participation at the prestigious Games since the 1972 edition in Heidelberg, Germany.

Malaysia’s first Paralympic medal also came via powerlifting through P Mariappan, who won bronze at the 1988 edition in Seoul, South Korea.

At the next Games in Barcelona in 1992, the  powerlifting squad improved on the medal tally with one silver contributed by Cheok Kon Fatt and one bronze by Mariappan.

The 2008 edition in Beijing saw another powerlifter, Siow Lee Chan, make history when she became the first female Malaysian athlete to win a medal at the Games. She won a bronze.

After Bonnie, the Malaysian challenge in Japan will be continued by Jong Yee Khie in the 107kg event on Monday.

We are live on Telegram, subscribe here for breaking news and the latest announcements.