The 25-year-old from Sarawak, who has dwarfism, broke his own record after lifting 232kg to win the men’s below 72kg event today.

China’s Hu Peng took silver with 214kg, while Donato Telesca of Italy claimed bronze with 213kg.

Bonnie holds the current world record of 231kg in the event, which he achieved at the world meet in Dubai last August

This victory marks Malaysia’s second gold medal at the Paris Games and is Bonnie’s return to the top podium since his first gold at Tokyo 2020.

Battling through shoulder pain

Speaking to Bernama later, Bonnie said he overcame severe pain in his left shoulder to retain the gold medal. He had been struggling with the injury since last week, which started during training and had led to significant swelling.

“The first lift was painful, and it only worsened with each attempt. I’ve never experienced such pain before; it used to be just my back shoulder,” said Bonnie.

He attributed the pain to insufficient warm-up before his Paris 2024 training sessions.

Due to the discomfort, Bonnie admitted he was anxious about his performance. “I was really afraid I wouldn’t be able to perform, but I tried to calm myself two to three days before the competition to ensure I was mentally prepared and motivated to do my best,” he said.

Bonnie said he and his coaching team aimed to secure the gold medal early in the first two attempts and then break the world record on the final attempt.

He plans to use the RM1 million reward from the sports prize scheme to support his family in Sarawak.

In addition to winning Malaysia’s second gold, Bonnie’s lift of 232kg surpassed his previous world record of 231kg set at the 2023 world powerlifting para championships in Dubai.

The winning lift also set a new Paralympic Games record for Bonnie, surpassing his previous mark of 228kg set at Tokyo 2020.