Ma Wenguang,
What motivated you, as President of a highly successful Federation, in fact of the National Federation with the largest membership in the world, to take the field for the IWF General Secretary's position? Well, I was a weightlifter myself and I have a deep emotional bond to the past, the present and the future of this sport. I believe that the IWF has accumulated immense professional knowledge and experience and has done extremely lot for the success and the development of the sport. I felt a kind of moral obligation to assess my own weight with the objective - in the case of success - to be able to support the world of weightlifting as closely as possible, including, of course, Chinese weightlifting. Now, time has come to realize this goal and I want to thank in my own name and on behalf of the Chinese Weightlifting Association for the confidence of the members at the Madrid Congress to become the General Secretary of the IWF. Chinese weightlifting is spreading and I hope that my country can increasingly promote the sport and help it getting stronger in other parts of the world as well. What do you think was the most valuable success in your career as a competitor? I competed in altogether five categories: 67.5kg, 75kg, 82.5kg, 90kg, and 100kg. I set 18 Asian records, 56 Chinese records and collected altogether 176 gold medals. What was the reaction to your election in China? China is a giant country with a long list of success in sport. In spite of that we cannot find Chinese officials among the top leaders of International Sport Federations. Maybe that was the reason why my election came as a surprise to the Chinese sports community. Anyway, that is another proof of our progress and I am sure that it will also give a further impetus to our weightlifting sport. What are the main guidelines in your work? I would put the emphasis on coaching. That is the area most in need of improvement. We must organise more coaching clinics and I want to raise their standard. I am thinking in terms of training camps for coaches, with exportable curriculum and methods. I wish to organise weightlifting schools for children and, last but not least, I would like to galvanize life into the Grand Prix.
Technically it looks a bit awkward to have the Federation's life controlled from the heart of Europe by the President and from China by the General Secretary. How will you be able to work together day by day, hour by hour? Please accept that Dr. Aján and I have our abilities to solve this situation. I shall endeavour to elaborate detailed and well-considered plans and we shall meet often - be it in Budapest or in Beijing. I firmly believe that under the guidance of the President the IWF will make further steps to reconfirm the sport's status and rank in the world. Are you planning to learn English in the future, or eventually Dr. Aján is learning Chinese? Well, he has managed to say a few words. But joking aside: I would like to learn English at least to feel more comfortable in everyday conversation but you must excuse me: that is not a matter of one day to another in my age. I would not like my interpreter to loose her job, but she will have always less and less to do with me. Knowing your responsibilities I doubt you have a lot of free time; still, what do you like to do as a favourite pastime? I have a lot of friends - mind you: like my own family, they are worried about me due to my increased duties. But take my word as a message: I shall manage! I like to swim, read books and climb mountains. On the other hand, I cannot find enough time to do workouts: I can do some weight training only every second or third week. So, I am not yet a potential competitor for the Masters. Dezső Dobor, IWF Head Press officer (The complete interview will be published in the next issue of World Weightlifting coming soon.)
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