Simanta wants to record her best score

South Asian Games gold medallist weightlifter Mabia Akter Simanta said she would look to improve on her best effort in the upcoming Asian Games in Indonesia this month. The 19-year-old has been undergoing training for the quadrennial event for the past five weeks, and she feels she can improve on her score while doing better than her South Asian counterparts in the 63-kg weight category.

The girl from Dhaka, who has been constantly improving her score since she won the gold medal in the South Asian Games in India two years ago, lifted her current best score of 180 kilos during this year's Commonwealth Games in Australia, where she finished sixth. She had lifted 78 kilos in snatch and 102 kilos in snatch & jerk during that event in Gold Coast in April.

However, Simanta knows the competition at the Asian Games is much stronger than that of the Commonwealth Games. Hence she is realistic in her assessment of her prospects.

“It would be unwise or too hopeful if I said that my target is to win a medal because we all know how high-standard the competition at the Asian Games is,” she told The Daily Star yesterday. “All I can say is that I would do better than the Indian weightlifters and that I would look to improve on my previous best.”

In fact the Asian Games standard is almost similar to the world standard, with China dominating the roost in the continent. In the last edition of the Asian Games in South Korea four years ago, a Chinese Taipei weightlifter named Lin Tzu-chi set a games and world record by lifting 261 kilos.

So Simanta would do well if she can achieve her target of improving her score, especially in light of next year's South Asian Games in Nepal, where she would look to defend her title. However, Simanta, who has been training under former national weightlifter Firoza Parvin, said her preparation could have been better.

“I started training on June 28. It's been a month and a half. Training could have been better if I had a better coach,” Simanta said.

Bangladesh Weightlifting Federation's vice president Mohiuddin Ahmed also expressed his optimism regarding Simanta while admitting that the weightlifters need more help in terms of infrastructure and training.

“Simanta is continuously improving her score. I am pretty hopeful that she will record her best score and we would be happy if she can finish inside the top eight in the Asian Games,” Mohiuddin said. “However, weightlifting, which has brought many gold medals from international competitions, needs a proper gymnasium and a good foreign coach if we are to target medals at the world level.”

Simanta will leave for Indonesia on August 16 and will take part in the 63-kg category event on August 24.