Bringing gentle touch to weight lifting<\/p>\n
By Christiani S. Tumelap<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): What would you do if your daughter, sister or
\ngirlfriend announced that she had her heart set on being a weight
\nlifter?<\/p>\n
Be truthful now. Would you support her, or instead nix her
\nidea amid fears of the sport changing her into a female version
\nof Hulk Hogan?<\/p>\n
Indonesia's world junior champion Sri Indriyani, 19, the
\nwinner of two golds at the past week's SEA Games, may put your
\nfears to rest.<\/p>\n
Her teammate Bastiah described Indriyani as a polite and timid
\nperson who would not argue with friends and coaches.<\/p>\n
Some observers said Indriyani -- a petite 146 cm and weighing
\nbetween 46 kg and 48 kg -- behaves even more femininely than many
\nwomen who would throw up their hands in horror at mention of
\nfemale lifters.<\/p>\n
Indriyani said her sport gets a bad rap.<\/p>\n
"Weight lifting will never change a woman into a heavily
\nmuscled and callous person. It can only improve her
\npower to lift the barbells," she told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
"Of course, with the training your body will
\ngrow a bit bigger and firmer as your muscles are being shaped up,
\nbut it will be back to normal soon after you stop doing the
\nlifting."<\/p>\n
She said many of the female lifters in the Games paid careful
\nattention to their appearance and had boyfriends.<\/p>\n
Her father, Mulyadi, was a lifter and introduced her to the
\nsport when she was in fifth grade at elementary school in Solo,
\nCentral Java.<\/p>\n
Mulyadi had never made it to the top, and he wanted his
\ndaughter to be a great lifter. Indriyani's mother, Darmini, was
\ninitially against the idea, believing the sport was only for men.<\/p>\n
But Indriyani was quickly hooked on lifting.<\/p>\n
"The weight lifting hall was near to my house so I just
\nstopped by everyday after school. I was also inspired because I
\nsaw some girls were also involved in the training."<\/p>\n
Stereotypes<\/p>\n
Stereotypes about female lifters, like those once held by her
\nmother, are due to ignorance, she said.<\/p>\n
"If people say lifting is not good for women because it will
\nmake their personality and body masculine, you can see for
\nyourself what female lifters are like.<\/p>\n
"And if people say it is unsuitable because of the tiny and
\ntight attire, then what about swimming and gymnastics?"<\/p>\n
Indriyani made her competition debut a year after taking up
\nthe sport, competing in the women's 44 kg category in a local
\nevent in Surabaya, East Java.<\/p>\n
Only 11 years old, she finished third.<\/p>\n
"I continued my training in Solo in between my time at the
\nnational training center, which I entered in 1991."<\/p>\n
In 1994, she moved to Lampung to train with coach Imron
\nRosadi.<\/p>\n
"I joined Pak Imron's training center because I heard he was a
\nvery good coach who always emphasized discipline and training
\ncontinuity."<\/p>\n
The move paid off -- she set her first national records in the
\n46 kg class in 1995, and won gold in a record-breaking spree at
\nthe World Junior Championships in Warsaw last year.<\/p>\n
She broke the records in the Asian Weight Lifting Championship
\nin Seoul later in 1996.<\/p>\n
In the SEA Games, which end today, Indriyani once again set
\nnew world junior records with 77.5 kg in the snatch, 98.0 kg in
\nclean and jerk and 175.0 kg total.<\/p>\n
Future<\/p>\n
The Games may be over for her, but Indriyani is busy preparing
\nfor her next meet.<\/p>\n
Does she ever tire of the mundane routine of endless training?<\/p>\n
"Of course, I often get bored with the training, especially
\nwhen there is a long time before the next competition," she said.<\/p>\n
"But, I have no regrets because I love this sport very much."<\/p>\n
Indriyani practices twice a day. "We usually practice our
\nlifts for two-and-a-half hours in the morning and afternoon."<\/p>\n
She relaxes with easy-listening music and dining on satay, her
\nfavorite food. "When we're not training, we eat, sleep, watch
\ntelevision and just have fun."<\/p>\n
Indriyani is now officially registered as an employee of
\nstate-owned PT Pos Indonesia in Lampung. She joined the company
\nin June last year.<\/p>\n
"But, I go to the office only when I am not preparing for a
\ncompetition. My coach said that my work should never affect my
\ntraining," she said.<\/p>\n
Her focus on lifting overshadows all other concerns, including
\nthoughts about marriage.<\/p>\n
"If you ask me about my future lifting career, I tell you that
\nI'll keep lifting until I can't lift no more. But, if you ask me
\nabout when I'll get married, then I don't know what to say.<\/p>\n
"All I know is that lifting will not affect my love life."<\/p>\n
She said she wants to have a boyfriend in the future, but he
\nshould come from outside the sports world.<\/p>\n
"Having an athlete for a boyfriend may be encouraging, but it
\nmay also be a distraction because his ego would not let you
\nachieve more than him."<\/p>",
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