Russia takes command in world powerlifting championships
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