Weightlifting selection delayed till March 21

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Weightlifting, Powerlifting and Bodybuilding Association has decided to delay a national selection due to the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) from March 1 to March 11.

The association's deputy, Budi Santoso, said on Monday the delay was also to give more time to the lifters to prepare themselves better.

The selection, which was originally staged for Feb. 27, will take place on March 21 at the Gajah Lampung Center in Pringsewu, Lampung.

Twelve lifters who have been groomed for the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok in December will also compete at the selection.

The 12 lifters are Joko Hanggono, Erwin Abdullah, Misdan Yunif, Taufik, Harry Setiawan, Zulkarnaen and Sutrisno in the men's side and Sri Indriyani, Winarni, Supeni, Patmawati and Sriyani in the women's side.

They have been training in Pringsewu and Gadog, Bogor, since November.

Budi said the athletes' progress in the past three months could be observed during the selection.

Antara has reported Patmawati, who won two golds last December at the World Weightlifting Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is suffering from an injury to her right shoulder.

Patmawati will undergo medical treatment at Pondok Indah Hospital, South Jakarta. She was earlier treated at Dr. Mintohardjo Navy Hospital, Central Jakarta, and had been examined by Dr. Carmen Jahya from the National Sports Council's medical team.

Carmen said Patmawati's injury was chronic and must be treated seriously, otherwise the injury would worsen and could jeopardize her training.

"The injury really disturbs me very much during practice," said Patmawati, adding that she could not lift during a series of clean and jerk practices. (yan)