Indonesian lifter Ni Nengah Widiasih pocketed the first medal for Indonesia at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic powerlifting sports at the Tokyo International Forum on Thursday.
According to the official competition report, she bagged a silver medal in the 41-kilogram (kg) class after clinching a lift of 98 kg with ease.
However, Widiasih failed to log a lift in the second trial when the load was increased to 98kg.
Finally, the 28-year-old lifter succeeded in lifting the 98kg weight in her third attempt. Her record had improved as compared to the previous achievement at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics when she lifted a total of 95kg and secured a bronze medal to place Indonesia in the 76th position in the final medals tally.
Moreover, it was her best record as a para-powerlifting athlete in the 41-kg class.
Meanwhile, the gold medal was secured by Chinese lifter Guo Lingling, who broke her own 41-kg world record by posting her best lift of 109kg, while the bronze medal was bagged by Venezuelan lifter Clara Sarahy Munasterio, with a 97-kg lift.
The 2020 Tokyo Paralympics is being held from August 24 to September 5, 2021. Indonesia has sent 14 male and nine female athletes to compete in seven sports disciplines, with the most for badminton and athletics, with seven athletes each.
Furthermore, three representatives were contesting in table tennis, two in swimming, and another two representatives in shooting. In addition, one athlete each will be competing in cycling and powerlifting.
The Indonesian National Paralympic Committee has targeted the contingent to win a gold medal and rank in the top 60 in the final medal standing of the event.
Source: Antara News