Weightlifting sisters aim for glory in 2020 Olympics
GEORGE TOWN: She is only 12 but can already lift 45kg over her shoulders, which is the weight of a fullgrown adult.
Tipping the scales at just 28kg, T. Thurgashree and her elder sister Logassree, 16, have set their sights on making Malaysia proud in the weightlifting category in the 2020 Olympics, which will be held in Tokyo, Japan.
“We train from 5am to 6am every day before going to school.
“When we come home, we rest before training again at 4pm,” said Logassree, adding that it came up to two or three hours of training every day.
There are no cheat days, she said, adding that they still get their homework done.
She has been pumping iron every day since she was four, while Thurgashree has been at it daily since she was three.
The girls’ coach is their father M. Thanabalasingam, 46, who is also the state weightlifting coach.
“They recently competed in the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Perak. We are hoping that next year, they will be able to join the SEA Games as well as the Olympics in 2020,” he said.
Besides a training programme that includes a 5.2km run every day, he puts his daughters on a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet that includes 10 eggs and over half a kampung chicken each a day.
When the poultry is substituted with mutton for variety, each girl wolfs down about 750gm of it for lunch.
“No rice,” said Thanabalasingam. “Too much carbohydrate makes a person lethargic.”
The girls’ carbohydrate intake comes only from some bread in the morning and boiled carrots and broccoli later in the day.
Thanabalasingam said he only provides kampung chicken for them or freshly caught fish bought at the fishermen’s jetty.
“Their bodily requirements are much higher than the average child, so what they eat is crucial,” he explained, adding that he spent about RM3,000 a month on the girls’ diet, supplements, training needs and special massages to keep their muscles from being injured easily.
He said they are on a constant strict diet because they need to stay within certain weight classes as they grow to avoid competing with others much older than them.
In spite of that, Logassree stunned contestants and judges in Sukma 2016 when she bagged the gold medal in the Under 48kg women’s category.
She was only 13 then, but outlifted other contestants who were close to 21. At the time, she was the youngest ever contestant to participate in Sukma’s weightlifting competition.
As a Bukit Mertajam Convent student, Logassree has captured the hearts of the school’s alumni.
The alumni is raising funds to make sure that the sisters are assured of the diet, equipment and world-class training they need.
Alumni past president Baby Goh, who is also a director of Orient Fitness gym, said it was a rare chance to find such incredible sporting talent.
“Their self-discipline is amazing. They are an inspiration to women of all ages,” she said.
Though the girls have weightlifting equipment to train with at home, Goh gives them free access to her gym in Bandar Baru Ayer Itam, where the additional equipment lets them isolate and strengthen specific muscles.