Patmawati, Winarni get Rp 50m bonus

JAKARTA (JP): National Sports Council chairman Wismoyo Arismunandar handed over Rp 50 million bonuses to weight lifters Patmawati and Winarni after they won gold medals in the World Weight lifting Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The bonuses consist of Rp 10 million cash and Rp 40 million in insurance.

"I want to honor them by guaranteeing their futures because the two athletes have made history. I don't want them to have a miserable future," Wismoyo said at the handover, witnessed by coach Imron Rosadi and the Indonesian Weight lifting, Power lifting and Bodybuilding Association's secretary-general, Djoko Pramono.

At the championships, which was staged from Dec. 6 to Dec. 12, Winarni, who won a gold in the 19th SEA Games here in October, won two golds in the 50 kgs division with a total lift of 185.0 kgs and her 105 kgs lift in the clean and jerk event. She also won the bronze in the snatch event after lifting 80.0 kgs.

Patmawati, who failed in the Games, won golds in the 59 kg division after lifting 97.5 kgs in the snatch event and 212.5 kgs in the overall.

Wake up

"Patmawati was able to wake up from her failure in the SEA Games and she had not become desperate about her career. It's really amazing," Wismoyo said.

Sri Indriyani, the junior world champion, who only won a bronze in the championships, said she was determined to improve her form in the future.

"I didn't perform as well as my two friends and I realize that my rivals in the championships are really strong, especially those from China and India," she said.

Wismoyo also urged the athletes to practice harder for the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok next December.

"I hope you can achieve better than other countries' lifters at the event," he said, as quoted by Antara. (yan)