Congratulations! Lifter Eko Yuli Saset 2 Medal Perak World Championships 2022

Lifter Eko Yuli (Photo: NOC)

Senior lifter Eko Yuli Irawan successfully brought home two silver medals and one bronze medal from the 2022 World Weightlifting Championship Bogota.

The two medals were bought up by the 33-year-old athlete when he dropped in his flagship class at 61 kg men, Thursday, December 8, 2022. This is the first medal for Indonesia at the event which is the qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Indonesian Olympic Committee (NOC Indonesia) Raja Sapta Oktohari said this result is proof for Eko Yuli who wants to appear at the Paris Olympics later.

"What Eko Yuli has achieved is proof of his commitment after the Tokyo Olympics considering that he has ambitions to appear again at the Paris Olympics," Okto said in a statement received Thursday, December 8.

"He is not playing games and he shows it seriously. Hopefully what Eko Yuli has achieved can be an encouragement for other Indonesian lifters to pursue points towards the 2024 Paris Olympics," added Okto.

Eko posted a total lift record of 300kg (165kg clean and jerk and snatch 135kg). This record gives Eko the right to two silver medals in the total lift and a clean & jerk and bronze for the snatch class.

He lost to the Chinese lifter as well as his toughest rival, Li Fabin. This 29-year-old lifter dominates in all batches after posting a total of 312kg (175kg clean & jerk and snatch 137kg).

The clean & jerk Li Fabin is a new world record. Previously, Eko Yuli held a clean & jerk world record with a 174kg class set in Ashgabat in 2018.

Meanwhile, Yueji He (China) secured the bronze medal after posting a total lift of 296kg (160kg clean & jerk and snatch 136kg). In addition, Yueji He also managed to win one silver through the snatch.

"Thank you for the prayers and support from my wife, family, close relatives, and the people of Indonesia. Today at the World Weightlifting Championship in Colombia for the 2024 Olympics qualification, I can only get a silver medal. Hopefully in the future it can be even better," said Eko Yuli.

Currently, IWF has launched the road to Paris 2024 qualification. The requirements are that birth athletes before December 31, 2009, must participate in two mandatory tournaments: the 2023 Weightlifting World Championship and the 2024 Weightlifting World Cup.

In addition, they are also required to appear at at at least three of the events: the 2022 Weightlifting World Championships, the 2023 continental Championships, the IWF Grand Prix I 2023, the IWF Grand Prix II 2023, and the 2024 continental Championship athletes must be declared clean of the Anti-Doping code.