Russia takes command in world powerlifting championships

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia stole a little bit of thunder as Russia snatched the first day lead at the junior world powerlifting championships in Nusa Dua, Bali on Wednesday night.

A 20-strong team from Eastern Europe, one of the world powerlifting powerhouses, collected a haul of nine golds, three silvers and a bronze to set the pace in the medals race at the four-day competition held for the first time in Indonesia.

The host team came out as an undisputable second with four golds, five silvers and seven bronzes, followed by Chinese Taipei which bagged a gold, four silvers and a bronze in yesterday's opener. The June 23-25 event will field 192 lifters from 23 countries competing in both men's and women's divisions.

With women's events highlighting the opening day, Russia struck a remarkable start as musclewoman Tesleva snatched a total lift of 335 kilograms to sweep three out of four golds at stake in the 44-kilogram category. Tesleva scored 140 kilograms in the squat event, 130 kilograms in the deadlift and 65 kilograms in bench press.

Each class featured in the annual meet has four golds up for grabs.

Yamskich Elena underlined Russia's supremacy when she snatched 172.5 kilograms in the deadlift and had a total lift of 400 kilograms for two golds.

Mingguarti, Indonesia's best hope in the 52-kilogram competition, shrugged off the odds by notching a total lift of 359 kilograms for three gold medals. Mingguarti scored the best lifts of 165 kilograms in squat and 160 in deadlift.

The 56-kilogram Maroah took the other gold after finishing first in the squat competition with 180 kilograms. She was the runner-up in both deadlift and total events.

Tumirah presented two silvers for the national team after scoring 67.5 kilograms in the bench press and 142.5 kilograms in the deadlift. Yunilarti, in the 52-kilogram competition, earned three bronzes.

Chinese Taipei won its lone gold through Ju Yang Shu who managed the best squat lift of 145 kilograms in the 48-kilogram category.

Few people turned out for the world championships, which reportedly cost the host Rp 400 million (US$187,100). The organizers blamed limited publicity for the absence of fans.

"Besides, the venue is quite far from the capital city of Denpasar," an official said.

Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Hayono Isman said upon opening the championships on Tuesday that powerlifting needs more aggressive promotion among young people in an attempt to put it level with other Olympic events. (amd)

Medals tally

G S B 1. Russia 9 3 1 2. Indonesia 4 5 7 3. Chinese Taipei 1 4 1 4. Norway 1 2 1 5. USA 1 0 1 6. India 0 0 3 7. Japan 0 0 1