Indonesia aims for gold in weightlifting at Paris Olympics

OTHER MEMBERS OF THE TEAM

The only woman in the team is Nurul Akmal, who comes from a small village in the Aceh province. Nurul, who came in fifth at the Tokyo Olympics, hopes that more women will be able to represent Indonesia in the sport and qualify for the Olympics in future editions.

In Aceh, women are more associated with household matters. Weightlifting is also seen as a sport primarily for men, which meant that her parents initially did not agree with her choice.

“Eventually, I helped them to understand and now they are more proud, more supportive and I am able to raise their prestige,” she said.

Competing in what could be his swan song is 35-year-old Eko Yuli Irawan. In 2008, he won the bronze medal in his maiden Olympic appearance at the age of 18. 

Today, Eko has participated in four consecutive editions of the Games and landed a podium finish in each of them, making him Indonesia’s athlete with the most number of Olympic medals.

“Maybe in terms of age, I’m already a senior and it’s possible that we’ll see whether it’s the end or not for me after this. What’s certain is that this is very important for me. Even if it’s the end of my career, at least I’ll give a sweet ending,” he said.