Local powerlifter appeals for government funding (Video)

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KUCHING: Local powerlifting sensation Stephanie Ensol is seeking a commitment from the national sports body in financial assistance.

Stephanie, who is from Gedong, said she has spent a lot of time, effort and money to compete in tournaments overseas and believes such assistance will enable her to bring more honours for the country.

“It has always been a dream for me to represent the country in sports. Right now, I need to focus on winning more titles but it seems that financial difficulties are holding back my progress and somewhat putting a dent in my hopes to win more,” she told The Borneo Post yesterday.

 

Her most recent success was winning two gold and a silver medal at the IPF Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships held in St John’s Island, Newfoundland in Canada. She was the only Malaysian who participated in the tournament.

Her coach Neil Pick, who is from Wales in the United Kingdom, said Stephanies has a bright future ahead of her.

“To have Stephanie perform her best, she needs all the right equipment and also proper training facilities. As for right now, we can only use whatever we have to train and whatever we have is not enough,” he revealed.

“It will be a huge loss for the country if they ignore athletes like Stephanie as becoming a world class athlete is never easy. Not everyone have what it takes to become world class but Stephanie is and the government should do something to help her before its too late,” the coach added.

He said the state government did give some financial assistance but it is financial support from the federal government that Stephanie needs as she is competing at the international level, representing Malaysia.

So far, he said, Stephanie has to fork out her own money just to prepare and compete in international competitions.