Cool! 5 Indonesian Lifters Qualify For Tokyo Olympics

Lifter illustration (Unsplash

JAKARTA - Five Indonesian lifters have passed the qualifications for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which will be held on 23 July-8 August.

Based on the Tokyo 2020 ranking list released by the World Weightlifting Federation (IWF) through its official website, Saturday, the five lifters who passed were Windy Cantika Aisah (49kg), Eko Yuli Irawan (61kg), Deni (67kg), Rahmat Erwin Abdullah (73kg), and Nurul Akmal (+87kg).

Windy, Eko Yuli, Deni, and Nurul Akmal were declared qualified because they were in the top eight positions in the world, which is a safe limit to Tokyo. Meanwhile, Rahmat Erwin Abdullah, who is currently ranked 11th, is entitled to a ticket through the continental allotment.

"Especially for Rahmat Erwin Abdullah, it was a very thrilling process considering that in the early April 2019 pre-qualification period they were still struggling to enter the top 13 (eight world rankings and five selected from representatives of each continent)," said PABSI's Head of Development and Achievement Hadi Wihardja as quoted by Antara, Saturday.

"But after June 6, 2021, IWF continues to adjust the points for each lifter, and finally Rahmat can become the representative of Asia with China, Japan, South Korea for the Tokyo Olympics," he continued.

In addition, according to Hadi, Rahmat Erwin also benefits from this position after the Colombian lifter was banned from competing in the Tokyo Olympics because of a doping case.

Similar conditions also occurred to Nurul Akmal, who until the end of 2020 was still in the 14th position in the world. But he later made it into the world's top six after participating in several qualifying tournaments this year.

According to IWF's statement, the ranking list that has been released is not final until the entire anti-doping process is complete.

"IWF has made a very careful decision because it pays attention to the condition of the lifter, especially the lifter is clean and the lifter must be free of doping," concluded Hadi.