They may be the babies of Team Cook Islands but weightlifters Sirla Pera (18) and Luisa Peters (17) have no qualms about taking on the Commonwealth’s strongest athletes.

The pair will make their Commonwealth Games debut in Delhi on October 8 and 9 and thanks to regular weightlifting meets they know what’s ahead come competition day.

Both began lifting four years ago and for Pera it was a continuation of a family sporting legacy.

His father Sam Pera and older brother Sam Pera Jnr have achieved a lot in the sport and have both competed at regional, Commonwealth and Olympic games.

Now it’s his turn to make a name for himself in the sport.

Pera entered his first competition in 2006, when as a 14-year-old he won a bronze medal in the Oceania junior division of the Pacific Rim Cup.

Since then he’s had a number of competitions, and making the cut for the Commonwealth Games is an achievement in itself.

Pera and Peters have been preparing for these games for the past five months and this has included twice daily training sessions.

Pera’s personal best total lift is 236kg from a 130kg clean and jerk and 106kg snatch.

His aim, when lifting in the 94kg open men’s division, is to record a new personal best of around 140kg.

And although the Commonwealth competition is an open event without medals for top juniors – Pera and Peters have the opportunity to set new junior and regional records.

This is certainly something our sole female lifter Peters wants to achieve in her debut at this level of competition.

And her rise up the ranks has been impressive indeed.

Her first competition since she started lifting four years ago was in 2008 at the Oceania Senior and Junior competition in Auckland.

It was also a real eye-opener for the youngster to take to the stage next at the Pacific Mini Games hosted by the Cooks.

The honour of lifting in front of a home crowd was huge and the youngster dug deep to put on a great performance – which she did.

But it was heartbreak as she missed out on a bronze medal by just 1kg.

Although guttered by narrowly missing out on a medal – Peters showed great maturity and got back on wagon, and the next month she bagged herself a bronze medal lifting at the Commonwealth Senior and Junior competition.

Peters will lift in the women’s 75kg+ division with a current personal best lift of 132kg from a 74kg clean and jerk and a 58kg snatch lift.

Her aim is to hit the 144kg mark or better.

They are very keen to take on the big boys and girls.

The pair has spunk, get-up-and-go, positive attitudes but they say that commitment is the most important aspect of weightlifting and any sport for that matter.

And of course the endless opportunity to travel and meet famous people has been great motivation for the pair who say the training together has been a great way to push each other to heavier weights.