SURAKARTA: Indonesia’s most decorated para powerlifter Ni Nengah Widiasih shouts as she bench presses a heavy weight at her training gym, pushing through a shoulder injury to prepare for her next challenge: winning a third Paralympic medal.

The three-time Paralympian, diagnosed with polio as a child and unable to use her legs, began powerlifting in elementary school — training with her brother in exchange for ice cream. The Balinese para athlete went on to win bronze at Rio 2016, silver at Tokyo 2020, and even a Toyota sponsorship, and she will bid for gold in the women’s 41kg category at the Paris Games that begin this week. “Powerlifting has changed my life a lot,” the 31-year-old told AFP at the national training centre in Indonesia’s Surakarta city. “Maybe if I didn’t do powerlifting, I don’t know, I have no idea what I would do.”

Widiasih says wanting to make her family and country proud was a driving force for another shot at a Paralympic medal. “It’s a personal target. Paris is not easy for me (because of the injury), but I will try as hard as I can,” she said. “I will do my best for Indonesia, for my family.”

Women in power

While men dominate Indonesia’s overall Paralympic medal haul, women have always led the way in its para powerlifting representation. No Indonesian man has ever qualified for the Paralympics in the sport. Widiasih trains with two other women para powerlifters with their own medal hopes, who will be a part of Indonesia’s largest-ever contingent of Paralympic athletes in Paris. She will be joined by Siti Mahmudah, in the 79kg category, and Sriyanti, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, in the +86kg class.

Siti, who lost her left leg to amputation, will compete at her second Paralympics. Sriyanti, who also had polio as a child, has gone from a chicken noodle seller to a Paralympian and silver medallist at the Asian Games in 2022.

Widiasih said the Indonesian women’s feat was all the more impressive because of challenges that men would never encounter, recalling a recent competition day when her menstrual cycle began. She experienced extreme pains in her stomach but still had to lift tens of kilograms of weight to compete. “Thank God I could handle it. It was quite disturbing. This won’t be experienced by male athletes,” she said. 

‘Nothing impossible’

Indonesian para powerlifting coach Eko Supriyanto said he is “more than amazed” by the all-woman trio. But after Widiasih lifted 98kg to take silver in Tokyo, he is managing expectations this time around because of her injury.

“We are pushing them to be able to compete at least for bronze,” he said of the Paris Paralympics powerlifting, which begins on September 4. “What is important is that we have done our best, worked hard, and are disciplined.”

He hopes that one day a man will join the impressive Indonesian women to compete in para powerlifting. But for now Indonesia’s top powerlifter Widiasih wants her medals to push more women to start lifting weights.

“I hope a lot of women out there are inspired by us,” she said. “Whatever our condition, as long as we give our effort, trust ourselves, there is nothing impossible for us.” – AFP