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.” 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.