Thai weightlifting team leader played down its gold prospect at the Beijing Olympics, however, the gold medalists will get big amount of bonus.
"I don't have a goal. It depends on the lifters' performance," Thai weightlifting team leader Boossaba Yodbangtoey told Xinhua after the lifters receiving a random pre-game doping test Saturday.
Thailand sent two lifters to compete in the women's 48kg division, however, the team leader denied it's to secure the gold.
"The records of them two are equal, so we cannot choose one," she said, adding that Thailand only have a chance to fight for one medal in the category.
She highly praised Chinese strongwoman Chen Xiexia, the world champion who will compete in the category and said Chen will get the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
"She is very smart," Yodbangtoey said.
She said the two lifters from Turkey, defending champion Nurcan Taylan, and Sibel Ozkan, as well as Japanese lifter Hiromi Miyake are all very good.
"It will be a good competition (in the women's 48kg division)," she said.
Yodbangtoey is also very cautious about the gold prospect in women's 58kg category by saying the lifter will fight for a medal, but not the gold.
There is only one division, the women's 53kg, that she is pretty confident in.
"The opportunity of getting gold in the 53kg is as big as Chen's in the 48kg," she said with a smile.
Thailand got three gold medals at the Athens Olympics and two of them were contributed by women lifters, Udomporn Polsak in the women's 53kg division and Pawina Thongsuk in 75kg category.
Thai gold medalist at the Beijing Olympics will be rewarded of 10 million baht (about 300,000 U.S. dollars), runner-up will get a six million baht bonus and bronze medalist four million baht.
(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2008)