Bringing gentle touch to weight lifting

By Christiani S. Tumelap

JAKARTA (JP): What would you do if your daughter, sister or girlfriend announced that she had her heart set on being a weight lifter?

Be truthful now. Would you support her, or instead nix her idea amid fears of the sport changing her into a female version of Hulk Hogan?

Indonesia's world junior champion Sri Indriyani, 19, the winner of two golds at the past week's SEA Games, may put your fears to rest.

Her teammate Bastiah described Indriyani as a polite and timid person who would not argue with friends and coaches.

Some observers said Indriyani -- a petite 146 cm and weighing between 46 kg and 48 kg -- behaves even more femininely than many women who would throw up their hands in horror at mention of female lifters.

Indriyani said her sport gets a bad rap.

"Weight lifting will never change a woman into a heavily muscled and callous person. It can only improve her power to lift the barbells," she told The Jakarta Post.

"Of course, with the training your body will grow a bit bigger and firmer as your muscles are being shaped up, but it will be back to normal soon after you stop doing the lifting."

She said many of the female lifters in the Games paid careful attention to their appearance and had boyfriends.

Her father, Mulyadi, was a lifter and introduced her to the sport when she was in fifth grade at elementary school in Solo, Central Java.

Mulyadi had never made it to the top, and he wanted his daughter to be a great lifter. Indriyani's mother, Darmini, was initially against the idea, believing the sport was only for men.

But Indriyani was quickly hooked on lifting.

"The weight lifting hall was near to my house so I just stopped by everyday after school. I was also inspired because I saw some girls were also involved in the training."

Stereotypes

Stereotypes about female lifters, like those once held by her mother, are due to ignorance, she said.

"If people say lifting is not good for women because it will make their personality and body masculine, you can see for yourself what female lifters are like.

"And if people say it is unsuitable because of the tiny and tight attire, then what about swimming and gymnastics?"

Indriyani made her competition debut a year after taking up the sport, competing in the women's 44 kg category in a local event in Surabaya, East Java.

Only 11 years old, she finished third.

"I continued my training in Solo in between my time at the national training center, which I entered in 1991."

In 1994, she moved to Lampung to train with coach Imron Rosadi.

"I joined Pak Imron's training center because I heard he was a very good coach who always emphasized discipline and training continuity."

The move paid off -- she set her first national records in the 46 kg class in 1995, and won gold in a record-breaking spree at the World Junior Championships in Warsaw last year.

She broke the records in the Asian Weight Lifting Championship in Seoul later in 1996.

In the SEA Games, which end today, Indriyani once again set new world junior records with 77.5 kg in the snatch, 98.0 kg in clean and jerk and 175.0 kg total.

Future

The Games may be over for her, but Indriyani is busy preparing for her next meet.

Does she ever tire of the mundane routine of endless training?

"Of course, I often get bored with the training, especially when there is a long time before the next competition," she said.

"But, I have no regrets because I love this sport very much."

Indriyani practices twice a day. "We usually practice our lifts for two-and-a-half hours in the morning and afternoon."

She relaxes with easy-listening music and dining on satay, her favorite food. "When we're not training, we eat, sleep, watch television and just have fun."

Indriyani is now officially registered as an employee of state-owned PT Pos Indonesia in Lampung. She joined the company in June last year.

"But, I go to the office only when I am not preparing for a competition. My coach said that my work should never affect my training," she said.

Her focus on lifting overshadows all other concerns, including thoughts about marriage.

"If you ask me about my future lifting career, I tell you that I'll keep lifting until I can't lift no more. But, if you ask me about when I'll get married, then I don't know what to say.

"All I know is that lifting will not affect my love life."

She said she wants to have a boyfriend in the future, but he should come from outside the sports world.

"Having an athlete for a boyfriend may be encouraging, but it may also be a distraction because his ego would not let you achieve more than him."