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 the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, silver at the Tokyo Paralympics and even a Toyota sponsorship, and she will bid for gold in the women’s 41-kg category at the Paris Games that begin this week.
“Powerlifting has changed my life a lot,” the 31-year-old said at the national training center 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,” she said. “Paris is not easy for me (because of the injury), but I will try as hard as I can.
“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 team.
No Indonesian man has ever qualified for the Paralympics in the sport.
Widiasih trains with two other female para powerlifters with their own medal hopes. They will all be a part of Indonesia’s largest-ever contingent of Paralympic athletes in Paris.
She will be joined by Siti Mahmudah, in the 79-kg category, and Sriyanti, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, in the over 86-kg 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 medalist 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 when her menstrual cycle began.
She experienced extreme pain in her stomach but still had to compete.
“Thank God I could handle it,” she said. “It was quite disturbing. This won’t be experienced by male athletes.”
Indonesian para powerlifting coach Eko Supriyanto said he is “more than amazed” by the female trio.
But after Widiasih lifted 98-kg 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 Sept. 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, 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.”