PABSI Continues To Ask Eko Yuli's Name For Qualifying The 2024 Olympics: Of Course There Are Requirements

Indonesian lifter, Eko Yuli Irawan. (Photo: Instagram @kokopower61)

JAKARTA - The name Eko Yuli Irawan is still being submitted to the list of athletes who will depart for the 2022 IWF World Championships in Bogota, Colombia, on October 5-16.

This event is the first qualification of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France.

Deputy Chairperson of PB PABSI Djoko Pramono, said that his party plans to dispatch 13 to 14 athletes.

"We have also reported the name Eko Yuli to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, but we are still waiting until the final entry," Djoko said, as reported by Antara.

Djoko revealed that PABSI had calculated the budget estimates needed to participate in the World Championships in Colombia. "The target is Rp600 million," he said.

However, he admits that he can't really expect government assistance because the World Championships in Colombia is a single event event that is not multi-event.

"This means that they usually use their own costs. So if the government wants to help, I have sent a letter, because no sponsor has offered yet," said Djoko.

"We have put Eko on the list, but we are still waiting for the final entry. If when the entry final has to be paid, the government does not help or does not have a sponsor, so how because this is not multi-event," he continued.

He also could not guarantee whether Eko Yuli would be sent later or not. Djoko said that PABSI would make a strict selection.

Understandably, PABSI currently has a row of potential young athletes. In the 61kg class controlled by Eko Yuli, Indonesia has the name Muhammad Faathir.

"Of course there are requirements. It's not a matter of whether you like it or not. Eko is still our hero. The law of nature, the old must lose to the young. Now our young generation has emerged," he said.

Djoko hopes to send more athletes who qualify for the Paris Olympics. "In Colombia is the first. There are still three qualifiers," concluded Djoko.

Weightlifting became Indonesia's mainstay branch to win medals at the Olympics. Especially Eko, he has contributed two silvers and two bronze since the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.