Over 350 junior lifters at Jakarta meet

JAKARTA (JP): More than 350 lifters from five continents are expected to meet in the 20th world junior weightlifting championships, scheduled to start tomorrow.

The competition will include musclemen from 13 countries throughout Eastern Europe, dubbed the world's most prominent weightlifting region, who will likely prevail at the five-day competitions staged at Senayan indoor tennis stadium.

A total of 44 nations have confirmed their entry at the world meet, the same amount of countries as last year's edition but with a greater number of athletes. There were only 210 lifters entered at the 1993 championships in the Czech Republic.

This is the second world event organized by PABBSI this year. It hosted the world junior powerlifting championships in Nusa Dua, Bali last month.

Banking a team of 11, host Indonesia hopes to steal a little bit of the glory although it dare not set a target of joining the gold medal winning countries. There are 30 gold medals up for grabs in 10 divisions at the weightlifting meet. The host team will take part in six categories only.

"Our chances of winning a medal are wide open, but I'm not too optimistic about taking a gold," Soesilo Soedarman, chairman of the Indonesian Weightlifting, Powerlifting and Body Building (PABBSI), told a press conference on Saturday.

Soesilo, who is also Coordinating Minister for Politic and Security Affairs, admitted that national lifters were no match to their world-rated opponents.

"Our muslewomen are, as a matter of fact, stronger than their male teammates," Soesilo said -- speaking literally as it turns out. National women's lifters spurred their team to finish second behind Russia in the world junior powerlifting championships last June.

PABBSI secretary general Djoko Pramono shared the same idea, saying that the national squad would manage to earn a gold only through Erwin Abdullah who would compete in the 64-kilogram division.

President of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), Gothfried Sundhol is scheduled to officially open the championships this evening. (amd)