LIFTER Rizki Juniansyah confirmed qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics after appearing at the IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand. The 20 year old athlete admitted that he did not expect to qualify for the 2024 Olympics representing Indonesia. The reason is, he had a training hiatus for five months after the operation.
“Alhamdulillah, I didn’t expect to be this happy. It’s all because of the power of Allah. Struggling in training and after an appendectomy after not training for 5 months, I was able to fight here, breaking the record,” said Rizki, Friday (5/4).
“I just lifted it and was happy, especially since this is the last qualifying so it’s all out,” he added.
The Indonesian weightlifting sport has so far secured two representatives to Paris. Senior lifter Eko Yuli Irawan also confirmed qualifying for the 61 kg event after appearing in the same event. For Rizky, this will be his first participation in the Olympics.
Rizki in the 73 kg class won a ticket to the Olympics after successfully winning two gold medals and one silver in Phuket. The 20 year old lifter competed with fellow Indonesian representative Rahmat Erwin Abdullah, who won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Dropping in the 73 kg class, Rizki managed to achieve a snatch lift of 164 kg and 201 kg for the clean and jerk with a total lift of 365 kg. This record was the total for the class and also broke the record.
Also read: Winning a gold medal at the World Weightlifting Championship, Rizki Juniansyah gets a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics
“The two best Indonesian lifters showed very tight and extraordinary competition in the world level competition. Of course we are very proud. Whoever passes will of course both represent Indonesia and have the task of protecting the Red and White in Paris 2024,” said the General Chair of the Olympic Committee. Indonesia (NOC Indonesia), Raja Sapta Oktohari.
“Congratulations to Rizki for being able to show his class, don’t be complacent and maintain his peak performance until he arrives in Paris. For Erwin, this is a sport where anything can happen. “Keep your enthusiasm up, the struggle is not over here, Los Angeles 2028 already looks so close,” he added.
National weightlifting team coach Dirja Wihardja explained that Rizky was able to beat Rahmat Erwin in both the snatch, clean & jerk and total lift.
Also read: Eko Yuli Irawan and Ricko Saputra Fighting for One Weightlifting Ticket for the 2024 Paris Olympics
Rizki succeeded in setting a new world record for a total lift of 365 kg, which was previously set by Rahmat Erwin at 363 kg during the championship in Uzbekistan.
“The Olympic rule is that one class can only be filled by one athlete from one country who is taken from the best in the total class and that is Rizky,” said Dirja.
“In sports there are winners and losers, whoever is the best gets (tickets). “Rizky really has a target. If he wants to qualify, he has to be able to beat Rahmat. The strategy has been in place since training,” he said.
(Z-9)
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