Meet Malaysia's amazing powerlifting team. Within the span of just two years, they've garnered a whopping 24 medals in total.

Through the efforts of six athletes alone, the Southeast Asian nation has a tally of 7 gold, 10 silver, and 7 bronze medals after competing in several regional and international competitions since 2017.



However the athletes; Kelvin Yeoh, Liew Ashton, Kenneth Kaden Chin, Nelson Chui, Kathryn Chong, and Stephanie Ensol might not be able to compete at the upcoming Asian Powerlifting Championships 2019 in Kazakhstan in December.

Here's why.

Kenneth revealed to Mashable Southeast Asia that the lack of government support to travel and compete has become a stumbling block for Team Malaysia.



"​In 2017, the additional government sporting funds were not available because our country was hosting the SEA Games and ASEAN Para Games at the same time.



"As for 2018, we were told that due to the change of government during the General Elections, the new presidential council had to settle the issues within the ministry first," Kenneth explained.

In 2019, the team submitted a budget proposal again and were promised partial funding. Till this date, the team has yet to see any form of funding.



"The upcoming competition's final nomination will end in 10th November, which means we only have less than three-weeks away to confirm our participation."

How can you help?

A breakdown of the budget needed to travel for Team Malaysia. IMAGE: Team Malaysia

Seeing that time is of essence, the team has resorted to crowdfunding. The team requires close to US$5,000 (RM19,000) to realize their dreams to compete at the Asian Championship at Almaty, Kazakhstan.



For those who're unfamiliar, the competition is a global celebration of competition and community, organised annually by the Asian Powerlifting Federation. It is a prestigious competition recognized by the General Assembly of International Sport Federations (GAISF).

Every year, the best lifters around Asia are given the opportunity to represent and bring glory to their nation. They compete in three categories: Squat, bench and deadlift. The individual who can lift the heaviest weight gets the glory.

"This year's event is historical as there will be more than 500 lifters from 22 countries competing," Kenneth said.

Why should you help?

Kenneth explained that powerlifting as a sport means a lot to the team.

"To be able to showcase our strength on the platform, in front of an audience is one of the main reasons why we love this sport," he added.

Kenneth fell in love with this sport when he got to spectate a local competition and observed how the powerlifting community was superbly supportive of one another.



"It's an undeniable fact that this type of community carries the same characteristics everywhere in just about any part of the world where powerlifting sport exists. From there on, I started joining local and national competitions, where I bagged numerous gold medals and also was crowned as national champion for consecutive years."

The funding will hopefully cover their travelling expenses which makes up a whopping 60 percent of the cost.

To date, the team has competed at the 2017 Asian Championship, 2018 World and Asian Championships, as well as 2019's World, Asia Pacific, and Commonwealth Championships.

Fund Team Malaysia here. We hope the team gets to compete at Almaty come December!

Cover image sourced from Team Malaysia.