Indonesian Lifter Rizki Juniansyah's Determination To Rate The 2024 Paris Olympics Qualification

Indonesia's flagship lifter, Rizki Juniansyah. (Photo via Antara)

Indonesia's flagship lifter, Rizki Juniansyah, will fight all out in the first edition of the 2023 IWF Grand Prix at the Pabexpo Exhibition Complex, Havana, Cuba on June 8-18.

There is a target that Rizki wants to achieve in the men's 73kg class. He is determined to surpass Rahmat Erwin Abdullah's total force in the list of competitions for the 2024 Paris Olympics qualifying rankings.

Rizki had the opportunity to compete in his specialist class for 73kg of men in the event which is the qualification for the Paris Olympics. Meanwhile, Rahmat Erwin this time competed in the men's 81kg class.

"My target in the championship in Cuba can exceed the total force belonging to Rahmat Erwin in the 73kg class so that he can appear at the Paris Olympics later," Rizki said, as quoted by Antara.

Rizki and Rahmat Erwin are two of Indonesia's best lifters in the 73kg class. Both have to compete because at the Paris Olympics each country is only allowed to send one representative in each class.

Based on the overall 2024 Olympic qualifying rankings, Rizki is in second place with a total lift of 347kg won when appearing at the 2022 World Championships in Bogota, Colombia.

At a similar event, Rahmat Erwin posted a total lift of 352kg while making him in first place in the men's 73kg class Paris Olympics qualifying list.

That way Rahmat Erwin's position is safer, so that the Executive Board of the Indonesian Weightlifting Association (PB PABSI) provides Rizki with the opportunity to take part in the 73kg class at the Grand Prix in Cuba.

"Rahmat's position is safe in the 73kg class, so it's okay for him to compete in the 81kg class at the Grand Prix in Cuba. Rizki has the opportunity to go down in the 73kg class. Later we will implement a strategy and the best will go down in the 73kg class of the Paris Olympics. Maybe one of them will advance to class. We will see that opportunity later (close to the Paris Olympics)," said Indonesia Weightlifting Head Coach Dirdja Wihardja.

At the Paris Olympics there were 10 classes contested with details of five classes each in the men's sector (61kg, 73kg, 89kg, 102kg, +102kg) and for women (49kg, 59kg, 71kg, 81kg, +81kg).

Although Rizki and Rahmat Erwin were involved in internal competition, the two of them supported each other because the most important thing they thought was the Red and White.

"We support each other and compete in a healthy manner. So later the best will represent in the 73kg class. Maybe one of us will advance to class," said Rizki.

Apart from Rizki and Rahmat Erwin, at the first edition of the IWF Grand Prix in Cuba, Indonesia in the men's sector also sent other lifters, namely Eko Yuli Irawan (61kg), Ricko Saputra (61kg), Mohammad Yasin (67kg), and Muhamad Zul Ilmi (89kg).

Meanwhile, the four women's lifters who competed were Natasya Beteyob (59kg), Sarah (59kg), Restu Anggi (71kg), and Nurul Akmal (+87kg).

Dirdja said the first edition of the 2023 Grand Prix in Cuba was important to improve its ranking towards the Paris Olympics.

"This is the first Grand Prix in 2023 as well as the qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympics. In Cuba, athletes have the opportunity to improve their rankings in their respective classes. Of course, each athlete must have progress by increasing their class in every event they participate in," said Dirdja.

Dirdja also revealed that in order to qualify for the Paris Olympics, each athlete must participate in at least five championships from seven to qualifying.

Two of them are mandatory, namely the 2023 IWF World Championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on September 2-17 and the 2024 IWF World Cup in Phuket, Thailand, on April 2-11, 2024.

In addition, Indonesian lifters must also participate in three of the other five championships. Two have been held, namely the 2022 World Championships in Bogota, Colombia on December 5-16 last year and the 2023 Asian Championships in Jinju, South Korea on May 5-13.

The other three are the first edition Grand Prix in Cuba, the second edition of the Grand Prix in Doha, Qatar on December 2-12 2023, and finally the 2024 Asian Championships in Taskent, Uzbekistan on February 20-27 next year.