I hope they would remain consistent in the future and be able to qualify for the 2024 Olympics.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian lifter Rahmat Erwin Abdullah won his second world champion title in the men’s 73-kilogram (kg) class of the 2022 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Championships in Bogota, Colombia, on Friday local time.

Abdullah, who was placed in Group B of the class, managed to surpass the total lift of all of his competitors, even the ones from Group A.

According to IWF’s report, Abdullah defended his world title after recording a total lift of 352 kg that included the 152kg snatch lift as well as 200kg clean and jerk lift.

With the results, the bronze medalist at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics bagged two gold medals at the 2022 IWF World Championships for clean and jerk lift as well as total lift in the men’s 73kg class.

His clean and jerk lift in the championships also set a new world record, breaking the previous one since the 2019 IWF World Championships held by Chinese lifter Shi Zhiyong, who recorded a 197kg clean and jerk lift at the time.

The achievement also improved his personal record set at the 2021 IWF World Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, as he won a gold medal after recording a total lift of 343 kg, comprising the 151kg snatch lift as well as 192kg clean and jerk lift.

Meanwhile, Rizki Juniansyah, Abdullah’s compatriot, who also competed in the same class, snatched a gold medal for the snatch lift and two silver medals for the clean and jerk lift as well as the total lift.

Juniansyah, who was in the Group A of the class, recorded a total lift of 347 kg, with a 155 kg snatch lift as well as 192 kg clean and jerk lift. He had attempted to break the junior world snatch lift record of 158kg in his third attempt, albeit was unsuccessful.

Furthermore, the bronze medal in the 73kg class was secured by Kazakhstan's Alexey Churkin, who lifted a total of 343kg, comprising 153kg snatch lift as well as 190kg clean and jerk lift.

Indonesian weightlifting coach Dirdja Wihardja said that he deliberately let the two athletes to contest in different groups, so they would enjoy the competition and not be pressured.

"In the end, they are able to achieve the best results. I hope they will remain consistent in the future and be able to qualify for the 2024 Olympics," he stated in a text message received here on Saturday.

The IWF World Championships, which is one of the qualification events for the 2024 Paris Olympics, is being held on December 5-16, 2022.

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Translator: Shofi Ayudiana, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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