Eko proves that his toil and high spirit are the capital to qualify for the Olympics. With such a positive result, I hope Eko would represent Indonesia in the 2024 Olympics. I hope Eko, as a senior lifter, would be an example for younger athletes, paJakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Youth and Sports Zainudin Amali expressed optimism that Indonesian athletes, especially weightlifting participants, would emulate weightlifter Eko Yuli Irawan whose fighting spirit remains undimmed despite age.
The minister made the statement in response to Irawan's success in the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships in Colombia. The 33-year-old athlete secured two silver medals and a bronze medal in the championship, being one opportunity to snatch qualification points for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
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"Eko proves that his toil and high spirit are the capital to qualify for the Olympics. With such a positive result, I hope Eko would represent Indonesia in the 2024 Olympics. I hope Eko, as a senior lifter, would be an example for younger athletes, particularly weightlifting athletes," Amali said in a statement on Thursday .
Irawan's participation in the latest World Weightlifting Championships is his 10th since his first appearance in 2006. The athlete had bagged seven medals, including a gold medal at the championship's 2018 edition in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, throughout his participation in the championship.
Participating in the 61-kilogram category, Irawan successfully bagged two silver medals for the total lift and clean and jerk and a bronze medal for the snatch category after recording a total of 300 kilograms lift (165 kilograms of clean and jerk and 135 kilograms of snatch).
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Irawan was placed second to Chinese lifter Li Fabin, who dominated all categories by recording a total lift of 312 kilograms (175 kilograms of clean and jerk and 137 kilograms of snatch). By his 175-kilogram lift, Li also snatched the world record on clean and jerk from Irawan, who lifted 174 kilograms.
The minister expressed hope that Indonesian lifters would follow Irawan's steps by fighting hard and not giving up to achieve success at the international level.
"I hope that more Indonesian weightlifting athletes would follow Eko Yuli Irawan's steps because weightlifting is one of our mainstays in our efforts to bag medals, such as during the last 2021 Olympics," Amali remarked.
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Translator: Shofi Ayudiana, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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