48kg winner Marthina Chan from Miri with Natasha Amisha and Karenny Linda both from Bakong receiving their medals from Dr Stephen (left) accompanied by State Sports Council northern region assistant director Gloria James Juat.
Dr Stephen (fourth right) unveiling the banner to launch the newly established Sarawak Weight Lifting Association.
MIRI: Bakong emerged as overall champions of the inaugural Inter-Centre Weight Lifting Championship held at Miri Indoor Stadium from June 22-23.
The championship was organised by the State Sports Council in collaboration with the newly established Sarawak Weight Lifting Association.
The Bakong lifters bagged a total of 11 gold, five silver and three bronze medals followed by Miri (9-5-5) and Kuching (4-0-2).
Teams from Tinjar and Sibu collected three and two gold medals respectively.
A total of 69 lifters from five centres in the state competed in 16 weight categories during the two-day tournament.
The prize-giving ceremony was officiated by Assistant Minister of Youth Development Datuk Dr Stephen Rundi Utom on Tuesday afternoon.
Dr Stephen, who is also the association president, said the championship was a platform to uncover young talent in the sport.
“We are scouting for potential weight lifters from as young as 13 years old.”
“We aim to select at least 10 athletes from each category to be polished for the next level particularly to represent Sarawak in Sukma 2016,” he said.
At the ceremony, he also officially launched the Sarawak Weight Lifting Association.
In view of Sarawak hosting the 2016 Sukma, he stated, the association is targetting at least six gold medals in the sport.
“However, there are still lots to improve in term of logistics including training and nutritional improvement for athlete development,” he added.