He expressed the hope after opening the national working meeting of the Indonesian Weightlifting Association's executive board (PB PABSI) in Jakarta on Wednesday.
"Weightlifting is one of the sports that we pin our hopes on at every Olympics," Ariotedjo said, according to a statement posted on his ministry's website on Wednesday.
So far, Indonesia has not won a gold medal in weightlifting at the Olympics. During the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, Indonesia's weightlifting team secured one silver medal and two bronze medals.
The silver medal was won by Eko Yuli Irawan in the men's 61kg event, while the bronze medals were won by Windy Cantika Aisah in the women's 49kg event and Rahmat Erwin Abdullah in the men's 73kg event.
"I'd also like to express my appreciation to PB PABSI, which has held this meeting as a mandatory organizational guidance," the minister added.
Ariotedjo said that his ministry is giving serious attention to priority sports, including weightlifting, one of the sports where Indonesia often makes achievements.
"PABSI has prioritized young athletes for regeneration. We want to continue to support PABSI's programs for regeneration and talent scouting thoroughly and more massively," he added.
Similarly, PB PABSI chairperson Rosan P. Roeslani expressed the hope that Indonesia would be able to win gold at this year's Olympics after winning just silver and bronze.
"Insya Allah (God willing), at the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics, we have the opportunity to win a gold medal for the first time," he added.
Roeslani further said that the association's achievements are the result of its commitment to maintaining its athlete regeneration.
He explained that 60 percent of the association's centralized training program for junior athletes while the remaining 40 percent is for senior athletes.
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Translator: Zaro Ezza, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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