Weightlifter, Rizki Juniansyah, secured a ticket to the 2024 Olympics after winning the 2024 IWF World Cup in Thailand. Rizki Juniansyah competed in the men’s 73 kg class of the IWF World Cup aka Weightlifting World Cup and defeated Chinese athlete, Shi Zhiyong, Thursday (4/4/2024) in Phuket, Thailand.
Rizki Juniansyah confirmed the title after recording a total lift of 365 kg. On the other hand, Shi Zhiyong’s total lift was 356 kg. Rizki Juniansyah also managed to beat his compatriot, Rahmat Erwin Abdullah, who was in third place with a total lift of 355 kg.
“Indeed, if we look at the athletes, we already have four who have qualified in the same two numbers. However, because of the new Olympic regulations, we can only send one athlete on the same category,” said PABSI General Chair, Rosan Roeslani.
As is known, the latest Olympic regulations only allow a country to send one representative in one weightlifting category. Because of this, Rizki Juniansyah is certain to represent Indonesia at the 2024 Olympics in the 73 kg number. “But there are still other potential athletes who can compete in the Olympics. We hope we can achieve optimally in this Qualification,” added Rosan Roeslani.
On three occasions, Rizki succeeded in lifting 192 kg in the first clean and jerk. He set a personal record in the second lift with a weight of 201 kg. Meanwhile, on the third occasion, with a weight of 203 kg, Rizki was unable to lift. Nevertheless, the second lift weighing 201 kg was enough for Rizki to ensure the 2024 IWF World Cup title, as well as a qualifying ticket for the Olympics.
This 20 year old Indonesian athlete successfully broke the world record previously held by Shi Zhiyong when he won the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Rizki’s total lift, namely 365 kg, surpassed Shi Zhiyong’s record of being able to lift 364 kg at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The IWF World Cup 2024 takes place from March 31 to April 11 2024 in Phuket, Thailand. A total of 11 Indonesian lifters participated in this event. This event is the last chance for weightlifters to win tickets to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Rizki’s struggle to win this time is clearly not easy. He had to have an appendectomy and then missed training for 6 months. Rizki managed to recover after breaking a personal record at the Asian Championships in February 2024. At that time, Rizki recorded a total lift of 353 kg, namely 158 kg for the snatch and 195 kg for the clean and jerk. Thanks to his success at the 2024 IWF World Cup, Rizki has the right to accompany another fellow weightlifter who first got a ticket to the Olympics, namely Eko Yuli Irawan.
